Symposium 2016

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Registration is now open!

This year COMBINE will join ABACBS, B3 and GOBLET in one of the biggest bioinformatics events ever in Australia!

COMBINE, as the student sub-committee under ABACBS, will be holding our annual one-day student and early career researcher symposium on October 31st, preceding the AB3ACBS Conference (ABACBS + B3) and GOBLET workshops at the Queensland University of Technology (QUT) in Brisbane, QLD. For more information regarding the conference program, invited speakers, and how to register click here http://www.abacbs.org/conference.

This will be COMBINE’s 6th Annual Symposium, held for the first time in Brisbane! COMBINE encourages honours, master and PhD students, as well as Early Career Researchers (ECRs) to submit talk and poster abstracts to the COMBINE16 Symposium! all abstracts are to be submitted through the abacbs submission page.

Abstract submissions have now closed (September, 30th)

Please check http://www.abacbs.org/ab3acbs-program for accepted abstracts. 

COMBINE16 Registration (Closes October, 14th)

$40 student (full-time Honours, Masters, and PhD) – Registration refunds available! See below

$50 non-student

Register here: http://www.abacbs.org/ab3acbs-registration/

COMBINE16 Registration Reimbursement

We will be offering a number of registration refunds to full-time students attending the COMBINE16 Symposium based on the following criteria:

  • Financial need (i.e. students without school/supervisor funding)
  • Time of registration (students registering earlier will be preferred)

The reimbursement amount will be $40 and will be refunded after attendance of COMBINE16.

Unfortunately, we are unable to offer refunds to all students. To apply for a registration reimbursement, please fill out this google form after you have registered for COMBINE16 and before October 15th: Registration Reimbursement Form

COMBINE16 aim

COMBINE16 is a community-run, non-profit event that aims to gather a diverse group of students and ECR who are curious, passionate and eager to learn more about bioinformatics and computational biology. We also would like to encourage networking and collaboration between attendees providing a welcoming and friendly environment. Accordingly, all attendees are expected to show respect and courtesy to everyone throughout the conference.

COMBINE16 Program

COMBINE16 will host a full day of talks and poster presentations from a range of presenters within the field of bioinformatics and computational biology. We will also be hosting a Career Panel event, which will allow students to ask a panel of early and established researchers within bioinformatics/computational biology questions regarding future career pathways. Finally, our day will be capped off by a night of Trivia at the Botanic Bar, QUT, where we will also be joined by some of our friends attending the AB3ACBS conference!

See the full program here: combine_program

COMBINE16 Career Panel

COMBINE16 Student Prizes

Students (honours, masters, PhDs) who present posters or talks at the COMBINE16 Symposium will be eligible to win one of several prizes on the day:

Talk Prizes:

  • First Prize: $200 and a talk at AB3ACBS conference (must register for both events)
  • Second Prize: $100
  • Third Prize: $50

Poster Prizes:

  • First Prize: $100
  • Second Prize: $75
  • Third Prize: $50

Optionally, you can share your slides/posters to our F1000Research channel electronically. See “COMBINE16 Poster and Talk Format” (next section) for more details. If you upload your slides/poster to F1000Research you will also be in the running to win:

  • A personalised F1000Research Poster/Talk prize certificate
  • A free personal subscription to F1000Research allowing access to all recommendations and our new collaborative authoring tool
  • A free article submission to F1000Research worth up to $1000

Poster and Talk Format

Talk Format:

  • Talk – 15 minutes
  • Question time – 5 minutes

Poster Format:

  • Optional poster lightning talk – 3 minutes
  • Maximum poster size A0 (841 mm wide, 1189 mm high), portrait posters only
  • (Optional) Single powerpoint slide to accompany presentation

This year, COMBINE16 will also be hosting posters and talk slides electronically on the F1000Research sharing site (http://f1000research.com/). The posters and slides will become available during the event and will enable further promotion of your research to the entire conference, including attendees of AB3ACBS. This feature is non-compulsory. Presenters who do upload their research to F1000Research will be in the running to win several prizes generously donated by F1000Research (see “COMBINE16 Student Prizes” section above for more details).

COMBINE16/AB3ACBS Travel Bursaries

Travel bursary applications have now closed (September, 30th).

Successful bursary recipients will be informed via email on Monday, October 10th.

Please email symposium@combine.org.au if you have any queries.

COMBINE16 Welcome Meet-up

COMBINE16 attendees are invited to join us for a welcome dinner event organised to give you the opportunity to meet other attendees before the “Bioinformatics Festival” week. We would love to greet you during a chill networking evening.

COMBINE will be providing free nibbles at this meetup, but we ask that you purchase your own drinks/dinner.

Date: Sunday 3oth October 2016
Time: 6:00 pm
RSVP: https://goo.gl/forms/UnG28u2ZN9vO30lI3
Where: PappaRich, Wintergarden, Queen St Mall, Brisbane

COMBINE16 organisers have collected more information about Brisbane and how to get to the venue to make it as easy for you to participate as possible.

Brisbane transport and parking options

Public transport

The Queensland University of Technology (QUT) Gardens Point Campus is located in the heart of Brisbane, right next to the Brisbane Botanical Gardens and alongside the iconic Brisbane River. You can travel to or from QUT using bicycle, buses, trains, and taxis. The free CityHopper or the CityCat will also take you to the Gardens Point campus.

Public Transport in Brisbane is run by Translink. Detailed information on public transport, timetables, fares and a journey planner can be found here: http://translink.com.au/

Go Cards

The cheapest and most convenient option for public transport in Brisbane is to purchase a Go Card. A Go Card is a pre-loaded travel card that enables “tap on, tap off” travel on buses, trains and ferries around Brisbane. Go Cards can be easily purchased from many convenience store vendors. Read more here: http://translink.com.au/tickets-and-fares. Unfortunately, interstate students do not get concession discounts.

Buses

Buses around Brisbane run very frequently, particularly to the city. QUT is within walking distance from a number of major bus stops, including the Cultural Centre (19 min walk), King George Square (20 min walk), Queens St Mall (15 min walk), and South Bank station (13 min walk). A full list of bus timetables can be found here: http://translink.com.au/.

Trains

Depending on the suburb where you are staying, trains may be a more convenient option for you than buses. Most trains run through the city, stopping at several nearby train stations including South Brisbane (17 m walking), South Bank (13 min walking), and Central Station (21 min walking). See the translink  website (http://translink.com.au/) for more information.

CityCats

If you’re looking for a more gentle, relaxing mode of transport to and from the conference, why not take a ride on one of Brisbane’s famous CityCats! The Brisbane CityCats travels both ways along the river from the University of Queensland (UQ) all the way to Hamilton on the north side of Brisbane. While not the fastest mode of public transport, it’s definitely worth trying! The closest stop is the QUT Gardens Point Ferry Terminal, making travelling to the conference by CityCat very convenient. Delegates wanting to travel to the conference by CityCat can read more about it here https://www.brisbane.qld.gov.au/traffic-transport/public-transport/citycat-ferry-services.

Parking

QUT Gardens Point has a range of parking options available, however, car parks are limited and expensive. More information about parking costs, availability, and permits can be found here: http://www.fmd.qut.edu.au/transport/

Biking

Brisbane and QUT offer dedicated bikeways, secure campus bike racks and showers for cyclists. CityCycle is Brisbane’s self-service, bike sharing scheme for short journeys. You can hire a bike for as little as $2 a day. For more information, visit the CityCycle website: http://www.citycycle.com.au/

Walking/bicycle bridge between Southbank and QUT

The Goodwill bridge connects the Southbank entertainment district with QUT Gardens Point. Southbank is Brisbane’s bustling riverfront hub, and is renowned for its manicured parklands, restaurants, public art, museums, and stunning river views. Get on a bicycle or walk is the best and cheapest way to get to the conference!

Brisbane Accommodation

We recommend you to look for accommodation close to the QUT Gardens Point campus. If you are willing to share accommodation with other attendees please get in touch with combine via symposium@combine.org.au we will arrange communication with other attendees.

Personal safety and security

http://www.fmd.qut.edu.au/security/index.jsp

Brisbane food and attractions

Food

http://www.visitbrisbane.com.au/things-to-do/eat-and-drink

http://www.eatsouthbank.com.au/

Local Attractions

http://www.visitbrisbane.com.au/things-to-do/major-attractions?sc_lang=en-au

  • Lone Pine Koala Sanctuary
  • GoMA – Gallery of Modern Art
  • South Bank (Markets Friday, Saturday and Sunday)
  • West End – Davies Park Market Saturday mornings
  • Botanical Gardens (right next to QUT Gardens Point!)
  • Wednesday Markets in City (in front of QLD Library on Queen Street)

Contact Us

If you have any questions regarding the symposium, please feel free to contact us at:

symposium@combine.org.au

Sign up to our newsletter

combine.org.au/join

COMBINE16 Symposium Committee


Symposium Chair: Paula Andrea Martinez
Sponsorship coordinators: Leah Roberts and Zac Gerring
Communications: Leah Roberts and Paula Andrea Martinez
Program and booklet coordinators: Shila Ghazanfar and Crystal Concepcion, Zac Gerring
Abstract leaders: Joel Boyd, Zac Gerring, Leah Roberts
Abstract reviewers team: 
Klay Saunders, Sarah Williams, Shila Ghazanfar, Glen van den Bergen, Leah Roberts, Chenkai Ma, Jane Hawkey, Crystal Concepcion, Andrey Kan, Nesli Avgan, Astrid Rodriguez-Acevedo, Dario Strbenac, Yuanhao Yang
Career Panel coordinator: Crystal Concepcion
Career Panel venue coordinator: Sarah Williams
Design coordinators:
Glen van den Bergen, Zac Gerring, Paula Andrea Martinez, Joel Boyd, Leah Roberts
Trivia coordinator: Klay Saunders
Trivia helpers: Paula Andrea Martinez, Leah Roberts, Sarah Williams, Glen van den Bergen
COMBINE president: Jane Hawkey
ABACBS COMBINE representative: Harriet Dashnow

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