E-Board No. 39

March 2006

ISDCI E-Board Number 39
MARCH 2006

Dear ISDCI Colleagues

MESSAGE FROM THE PRESIDENT OF ISDCI

Many thanks to everyone who has submitted an abstract for our Conference in July. At end of play on 20th March we had 314 submitted. Our conferences are one of our key activities and so it is imperative we get a good turn out. I would urge all members to continue to encourage colleagues and students to come along. The scientific programme is excellent, and I am sure it is going to be a very good conference indeed. We will be keeping abstract submission open for anyone wishing to present a poster (see below), so if you have not already done so please do take the time to send in an abstract .

There have been many queries about the policy we have adopted for this Congress of a single registration fee that covers not only registration but also 6 nights' accommodation, 8 meals, and the social events (the reception at the Aquarium and the closing banquet). This was done not to simplify our administration but because the only way we could structure a contract with the Conference centre was to package together the rental of the Congress facilities, the accommodation, and the catering. The "bundling" of these items creates what appears to be an expensive registration fee, but we believe that if you consider what the costs would be if each of these items was purchased separately, the "package deal" represents excellent value.

We have had one change to the programme forced upon us. Unfortunately Dr Kafatos is now unable to be with us to give his talk on arthropod immunity, but I am delighted to announce that Dr Jean-Marc Reichhart has accepted to give a plenary talk on "The innate immune system in fruit flies: lessons and questions".

Recently the ballot for the new President-Elect was sent out to members by email. Please do vote and return the ballot paper to Norm Miller. It would be nice to get a large return from the membership on this important issue.

Lastly, I have been in discussion with Elsevier regarding our current membership package with them. I believe the time is right to change what we have as a compulsory subscription and plan to ask for opinion on this from members before or during the Charleston meeting. Currently we must purchase a hard copy of DCI with our membership, and with E-journals readily available nowadays there is the possibility of making the compulsory purchase for electronic access rather than the hard copy. This would reduce the cost of membership, but would mean that anyone wanting the hard copy would need to pay extra. Elsevier apparently do not operate a mix and match approach, and so all members must purchase hard copy or electronic copy as the baseline purchase. So more on this shortly.

I do hope that most members are planning to be in Charleston this July and I look forward to welcoming you to ISDCI X.

Chris Secombes.
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MORE NEWS FROM THE LOCAL ISDCI X CONGRESS ORGANIZERS

Abstract submission is still open!!

We are keeping the Abstract submission website open, which means that you will have the chance to present your most exciting and late-breaking discoveries at the Congress. All late Abstracts will be guaranteed presentation as posters, and if you request that they be presented orally we will make our best effort to accommodate them in the oral presentation sessions.

Travel Awards
The deadline for ISDCI student / post doc Congress travel awards is almost upon us (1st April 2006. Application forms can be viewed on the Congress web site: http://www.isdci.org/congress/travelawards.shtml

Please send your applications by fax to Val Smith (ISDCI Education Secretary) on +44 1334 463443 as soon as possible.

Don't forget to register early!

The early registration deadline in April 20th, so please put this on your calendars and remember to take advantage of it.

Travel Information for Charleston Charleston has become, in the last few weeks, a more expensive destination. This is because Charleston lost service from a low-cost carrier (Independence Air) that went out of business. If the airfares you are quoted for Charleston seem high, you might want to consider flying to a nearby airport and renting a car.
The relevant alternative airports for a fly/drive option might be:
Myrtle Beach, SC, 100 miles, 2 hours driving time Columbia SC, 120 miles, 2.5 hours driving time Savannah, GA, 120 miles, 2 hours driving time Charlotte NC, 200 miles, 3.5 hours driving time Atlanta GA, 320 miles, 5 hours driving time Orlando FL, 390 miles, 6 hours driving time
If you take the fly/drive option, MapQuest <http://www.mapquest.com/> is a good source of maps and driving directions.
Please note that the Charleston Place Hotel has a $12/day charge for parking.

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The next E-Board will go out in April. Please send any announcements or items for posting to me at the e-mail address below.

Val Smith
ISDCI Education Secretary
vjs1@st-and.ac.uk

Gatty Marine Laboratory
School of Biology
University of St Andrews
Fife, KY16 8LB
Scotland, UK

Tel: +44 (0) 1334 463474
Fax: +44 (0) 1334 463443

END

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