International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society

General Procedures and Responsibilities for IBANGS Officers and Committees

 

Historical responsibilities of the IBANGS President, Secretary, Treasurer, and 3 Members-at-Large, which comprise the Executive Committee

President  (1 year term) 

The President has the responsibility of oversight for all aspects of the IBANGS annual meeting and society business.  The President takes office during the annual meeting, and participates in the Executive Committee meeting.  At the next annual meeting, the duties of the President include delivering an opening welcome, introducing the Presidential lecture, and chairing the Business and Executive Committee meetings.  The President stays in close touch with the Secretary, Treasurer, Members at Large, and Committee Chairs during the year, to move all activities forward appropriately and in a timely fashion.  

Immediately after the annual meeting, the President recruits new committee members as needed, and recruits new committee chairs where needed, from the directory of active IBANGS members.  Choices are made in consultation with current committee chairs and members, and with Executive Committee and other IBANGS members.  A particular effort is made to encourage and include women and underrepresented minorities as committee members.  New committee chairs and members should be in place by August, to allow activities to progress on schedule.  The President updates the IBANGS website with the new member lists.

In the months after the annual meeting, the President routinely consults with the Program, Awards, and Local Organizing Committees to ensure that required actions are taken on schedule for the next annual meeting.  Usually by the end of July, the President selects an invited speaker for the Presidential Lecture.  The President sends out the congratulatory letters to the Distinguished Scientist and Young Scientist awardees as selected by the Awards Committee, and sends out letters of appreciation to nominees who were not selected, usually by January.  The President keeps in touch with the Nominations and Elections Committee to ensure that an appropriate ballot is developed, and elections take place in March, for IBANGS officers.  

The President interacts routinely, usually by email, with members of the Executive Committee, Members at Large, Secretary, and Treasurer, on new initiatives and required changes in procedures for all IBANGS functions.  The President works with the Membership Committee on mechanisms to recruit and retain members.  For example, fees for membership and annual meeting registration are decided by the Executive Committee in consultation with the Treasurer, Membership, and Program Committees.  Discussion of choices of venues for the next two IBANGS annual meetings are led by the President with members of the Executive Committee and IBANGS membership, to ensure that contracts are arranged for the following year, and plans are set in motion for two years in the future.

 

Secretary(3 year term)

The Secretary sends out all notices related to the annual meeting, usually through the IBANGS listserve, BANGNET, and the IBANGS website.

In coordination with the Membership Committee, the Secretary sends out the first notice for payment of membership dues in late November/early December.  Annual membership dues have a payment deadline of January 1st.  The Secretary then assures that anyone who has not yet paid annual dues by January or February is contacted. Upgrades in the IBANGS website will enable reminders to be sent automatically.  

The Secretary ensure that list of the members of the Society is current and accurate.  Upgrades in the IBANGS website will enable routine updates.  

The Secretary works closely with the Membership Committee to actively recruit and retain IBANGS members. 

The Secretary distributes announcements of interest to IBANGS members, particularly advertisements for faculty, postdoctoral, and student positions, as communicated by IBANGS members.

The Secretary records detailed minutes of the proceedings of official meetings of the IBANGS Executive Committee.

 

Treasurer (3 year term)  

The Treasurer deposits all money paid to the Society in the chartered bank used by the Society.  The majority of the workload involves managing the PayPal online payment system for annual dues and conference registration fees, and authorizing transfers of IBANGS funds for the payment of IBANGS conference costs and other expenses.  

Additional routine financial responsibilities include payment obligations to the publishing company, John Wiley & Sons, for member subscriptions to Genes, Brain and Behavior, payment of student travel awards, reimbursing invited speakers for portions of their registration and travel expenses after the annual IBANGS meeting, depositing conference contributions from sponsors and vendors, and paying the IBANGS membership fee for the Federation of European Neuroscience Societies.

During the annual IBANGS conference, the Treasurer presents a summary of the financial report at the IBANGS Business Meeting, and advises on financial issues during the Executive Committee meeting.

The Treasurer manages the PalPay account, invoices, receipts, and record-keeping.  Accurate, up-to-date record books are kept in a secure place, and transferred to the next Treasurer at the end of the 3 year term of office.

The Treasurer prepares an annual financial report and annual tax return, as required by the financial institution and country in which IBANGS is chartered.  Currently the charter is with Companies House in the U.K. 

 

Members-at-Large(3 year term)

Members-at-large work with the President and Executive Committee on specific issues.  For example, Abraham Palmer contributed expertise in redesigning the IBANGS website.  Abe worked with Treasurer Cathy Fernandes on website changes required to switch from Kagi to PayPal for membership and registration fees.  Specific assignments for Members-at-Large may include serving as website manager, updating the news section, and maintaining communication with other meetings and societies such as FENS.

 

Historical responsibilities of IBANGS Awards, Nominations and Elections, Membership, Program, and Local Organizing Committees

Awards Committee

The main duty of the IBANGS Awards Committee is to select the IBANGS members who will receive the Annual Distinguished Scientist Award and the Annual Young Scientist Award at the Annual IBANGS meeting.  

Committee appointments are usually for 3 years.  Terms of office are staggered, with one or two new members leaving and joining each year, to maintain continuity.  The committee Chair is generally chosen by the President from among the current committee members to maintain continuity.  The number of committee members has ranged from 3 to 6.  New committee members are appointed by the new IBANGS President, in consultation with committee chair, immediately after the IBANGS Annual Meeting at which the President takes office.

The work of the Awards Committee begins about a month after the IBANGS Annual Meeting.   The Committee Chair prepares an announcement for the Secretary to distribute through the IBANGS membership listserve and BANG_NET.  Below is an example of the 2009 announcement.  The Awards Committee Chair works with the Secretary to send a follow-up announcement in September or October.   Committee members make a particular effort to encourage nominations of women and underrepresented minorities, and to include women and underrepresented minorities in award selections.  

After the November or December deadline, all nomination packages are shared among the Awards Committee members.  Criteria listed within the announcement must be fully met for consideration of the nominee.  If more than one nomination is received for the same nominee, the first received is used as the official nomination, but additional letters of nomination can be used as further recommendations. 

The committee deliberates on the relative merits of each nominee for each of the two awards.  The committee chair decides on a method for voting.  One option is an independent rank ordering by each member is conducted, and the totals tallied.  However, non-quantitative discussions between the committee members may be equally useful.

The committee’s top choices for the Distinguished Investigator and Young Investigator Awards are communicated by the Awards Committee Chair to the IBANGS President and Executive Committee.   If no objections are raised, the President sends a formal notification to the two selected awardees.   The President also sends formal notifications of declines to the nominees who were not selected.

Lectures by the Annual Distinguished Scientist and the Annual Young Scientist are scheduled into the program for the Annual Meeting.   The Distinguished Scientist Award title and the Young Scientist Award title are listed in the program, along with the title of the lecture and the name and affiliation of the speaker.

 

Sample Call for Award Nominations

From:Lisa Tarantino [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Tuesday, July 21, 2009 3:53 PM
To: Crawley, Jacqueline (NIH/NIMH) [E]
Subject: CALL FOR IBANGS AWARD NOMINATIONS

The International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society (IBANGS)
FIRST ANNOUNCEMENT
CALL FOR IBANGS AWARD NOMINATIONS

Annual Young Scientist Award
Annual Distinguished Scientist Award
DEADLINE: November 1st, 2009

Dear IBANGS Members,
In order to recognize the distinguished contributions of our colleagues in the field of Behavioural and Neural Genetics, the IBANGS Executive Committee confers 2 awards at each IBANGS annual meeting: the Young Scientist Award and the Distinguished Scientist Award.

Annual Young Scientist Award

Any IBANGS member in good standing is eligible, except current members of the Awards and Executive Committees. Criteria for evaluation are:

1. Member of IBANGS in good standing
2. Seven (7) or fewer years post-first faculty or faculty-equivalent appointment
3. Area of research, and importance to Behavioural and Neural Genetics
4. Scientific importance of research discoveries
5. Future plans and projects
6. Projected impact on the field

Annual Distinguished Scientist Award

Any IBANGS member in good standing is eligible, except current members of the Awards and Executive Committees. Criteria for evaluation are:

1. Member of IBANGS in good standing
2. Seven (7) or more years post-first faculty or faculty-equivalent appointment
3. Area of research, and importance to Behavioural and Neural Genetics
4. Scientific importance of research discoveries
5. Future plans and projects
6. Mentorship of students, postdoctoral fellows, and new faculty
7. Continued impact on the field

To make a nomination, please email the items below by November 1st, 2009 to: Andrew Holmes, Ph.D., Chair, IBANGS Awards Committee, [email protected]

1. Your letter of nomination and statement of the nominee’s scientific contributions, addressing the evaluation criteria for the appropriate award (2-page maximum total). This letter must confirm that the individual has agreed to be nominated, and agreed to attend the Annual Meeting to present a lecture, if selected.
2. Nominee’s contact information
3. Nominee’s Curriculum Vitae

The list of previous awardees and additional information, including list of Awards Committee, are on the Society’s Awards web page http://www.ibangs.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=83207&orgId=ibangs The list of Executive Committee members can be found on at http://www.ibangs.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=83925&orgId=ibangs

Awardees will be selected by the Awards Committee, and will be announced at the 12th Annual Meeting of the International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society, May 12-16, 2010, in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada http://www.ibangs.org/mc/page.do?sitePageId=91758

Awards Committee for IBANGS 2010 Annual Meeting:
Andrew Holmes (Chair)
John Crabbe
Douglas Wahlsten
Mary-Anne Enoch
Justin Rhodes

 

Membership Committee

The main duty of the IBANGS Membership Committee is to recruit and retain IBANGS members. 

Committee appointments are usually for 3 years.  Terms of office are staggered, with one or two new members leaving and joining each year, to maintain continuity.  The committee Chair is generally chosen by the President from among the current committee members to maintain continuity.  The number of committee members has ranged from 3 to 6.  New Membership Committee members are appointed by the new IBANGS President, in consultation with the committee chair, immediately after the IBANGS Annual Meeting at which the President takes office.

The work of the Membership Committee usually begins in November.  The Committee Chair prepares a reminder about payment of the IBANGS annual membership dues, for the Secretary to distribute through the IBANGS membership listserve and BANG_NET.  Below is an example of the 2009 announcement.  A follow-up announcement is sent by the Secretary in December to members who have not yet paid their dues.  Software is in place to determine who has not yet paid dues, to allow the reminders to be tailored to those intended.  

The goal is to have all members pay their dues before January 1st.  The January 1st deadline is designed for consistency with the start of the annual subscription to Genes, Brain and Behavior, the official IBANGS journal.  Because membership dues currently subsidize the journal, it is important that the subscription fees be conveyed around January 1st to the journal publisher, John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey, USA.  In the future, Genes, Brain and Behavior may become sufficiently self-supporting without IBANGS membership dues, at which time the dues deadline of January 1st will become less critical.

Membership solicitations may be included as part of the IBANGS Annual Meeting registration announcements.  Members and new members may find it easier to pay both the annual dues and Annual Meeting registration fees at the same time.  

New members will obtain online access to Genes, Brain and Behavior that begins when they pay their annual dues.  Back issues of hardcopies from January of that year will be sent to the new members who pay the registration fee for a hardcopy subscription.

Examples of the initial announcement and follow-up reminder are shown below.

The Membership Committee works with the IBANGS Treasurer and Executive Committee to determine the dollar amount of annual dues, based on current IBANGS finances.  The goal is to keep dues as low as possible while meeting financial obligations for Society needs and subsidizing the journal.  An additional principle is to keep dues lower for students and postdoctoral fellows than for established investigators.

Responsibilities of the Membership Committee include discussions on mechanisms for recruiting and retaining new members, including invitations to individuals selected from memberships lists of other societies, and decisions on any unusual cases, following discussions with the Executive Committee.  

 

Sample Call for Membership Renewals

From:Enoch, Mary-Anne (NIH/NIAAA) [E]
Sent: Friday, December 14, 2007 4:07 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Bang_net] RENEWAL OF IBANGS MEMBERSHIP FOR 2008 

 

RENEWAL OF IBANGS MEMBERSHIP FOR 2008 

Dear IBANGS members, 

It is now time to renew your IBANGS membership for 2008. To avoid having a disruption in delivery of your issues of G2B and online subscriptions please pay your dues by December 31st!  

In 2008 we are offering the new option of a reduced membership fee with online-only subscription to G2B. The 2008 membership fees are: 

$180 -- Regular membership with print and online subscription to G2B 

$140 -- Regular membership with online-only subscription to G2B        

$105 -- Student membership with print and online subscription to G2B  

$65   -- Student membership with online-only subscription to G2B         

Please go to the IBANGS website www.ibangs.org, follow the link to memberships, enter your user name where it asks for IBANGS ID and take it from there. 

Please continue to support IBANGS! There are many benefits for members including reduced registration fees for the 2008 Genes, Brain and Behavior Meeting in Portland, Oregon, USA, online subscription and hard copies of G2B, reduced page charges for publications in G2B, online subscription to EJN, membership of FENS….and more. 

Best wishes and Happy Holidays!

Mary-Anne Enoch

IBANGS Secretary

[email protected]  

 

Sample Second Call for Membership Renewals

From:Enoch, Mary-Anne (NIH/NIAAA) [E]
Sent: Friday, January 18, 2008 3:35 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Bang_net] RENEWAL OF IBANGS MEMBERSHIP FOR 2008 -- SECOND CALL

SECOND CALL FOR RENEWAL OF IBANGS MEMBERSHIP FOR 2008 

Dear IBANGS members, 

Firstly, many thanks to those of you who have already renewed your membership for 2008! Apologies for including you in this group email.

I now encourage all of you who have not yet renewed your IBANGS membership for 2008 to do so very soon. The membership year started on January 1st

Please continue to support IBANGS! There are many benefits for members including reduced registration fees for the 2008 Genes, Brain and Behavior Meeting in Portland, Oregon, USA, online subscription and hard copies of G2B, reduced page charges for publications in G2B, online subscription to EJN, membership of FENS….and more. 

In 2008 we are offering the new option of a reduced membership fee with online-only subscription to G2B. The 2008 membership fees are: 

$180 -- Regular membership with print and online subscription to G2B 

$140 -- Regular membership with online-only subscription to G2B        

$105 -- Student membership with print and online subscription to G2B  

$65   -- Student membership with online-only subscription to G2B         

Please go to the IBANGS website www.ibangs.org, follow the link to memberships, enter your user name where it asks for IBANGS ID and take it from there. 

Best wishes,

Mary-Anne Enoch

IBANGS Secretary

[email protected]  

Awards Committee for the IBANGS 2010 Annual Meeting:

Igor Ponomarev (Chair: 2008-2010) 

Tsuyoshi Miyakawa (2009-2011)

Justin Rhodes (2008-2010)

 

Nominations and Elections Committee

The main duty of the IBANGS Nominations and Elections Committee is to:

  • assemble a slate of nominees for the open positions,
  • conduct the online election,
  • tally the results,
  • communicate the results to the nominees and then to the general membership by the chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee.

Elected officials include:

            President (one year term)

            Secretary (3 year term)

            Treasurer (3 year term)

            Three Members-at-Large (3 year term)

The appointments to Nominations and Elections Committee are usually for 3 years.  Terms of office are staggered, with one or two new members leaving and joining each year, to maintain continuity.  The committee chair is generally chosen by the President from among the current committee members to maintain continuity.  The number of committee members has ranged from 3 to 6.  The new IBANGS President, in consultation with the committee chair, appoints new Nominations and Elections Committee members immediately after the IBANGS Annual Meeting at which the President takes office. 

The IBANGS By-Laws state that the elections of IBANGS officers must be completed by March 30. The committee prepares and sends an email to the membership, requesting nominees for various positions on the Executive Committee.  This announcement should be made in January or early in February. The committee must verify that those nominated for office are members in good standing and that they have agreed to run for a position on the Executive Committee.  After collecting nominees, the committee prepares an online ballot using on-line service of www.surveymonkey.com for voting.  The ballot should include a short biographical paragraph about each nominee and must also include a mandatory question requesting the name of the voter. The announcement of online election should be made late in February or early in March (at the latest).  Only IBANGS members in good standing are allowed to vote. The Nominations and Elections Committee then works with the Secretary to make sure that all voters are current members.  Individuals who have voted but are not current members are then sent an email asking them to rejoin IBANGS.

The deadline to close the ballot should allow for the preparation of the results of the election, so setting the deadline for March 20th should give ample of time.  The results of the ballot are tallied by the Nominations and Elections Committee, and must be certified by two additional individuals assigned by the current President of the Society.  Results of the election are then communicated to the nominees and then to the general membership by the chair of the Nominations and Elections Committee. 

Nominations and Elections Committee for the 2012/2013 IBANGS Annual Meeting:

Christopher Janus (Chair, 2011-2013)

Jacqueline Crawley (2011-2013)

Fred Van Leuven (2012-2014)

Cathy Fernandes (2012-2015)

 

Program Committee 

The primary responsibility of the IBANGS Program Committee is to organize the scientific program for the Annual Meeting.   IBANGS Annual Meetings are traditionally held in May, at a location that encourages participation by members, and maximizes participation by students and postdoctoral fellows at local universities.

The Program Committee Chair is the IBANGS member who will serve as the primary host for that year’s IBANGS Annual Meeting.    The decision on the host and venue for the Annual Meeting is usually made by the Executive Committee, at its official meeting during the Annual Meeting, and/or through discussions thereafter.  The goal is to have the venue and host confirmed for the next two Annual Meetings.  

Committee appointments are usually for 1 or 2 years.   Members of the Program Committee are appointed by the IBANGS President, in consultation with the Program Committee Chair.  The number of committee members has ranged from 3 to 6.  The goal is to include committee members with expertise in many areas of behavioral genetics, who will recruit and select symposia that represent the range of research interests of IBANGS members.

The work of the Program Committee begins in June.  The Program Committee Chair has the responsibility of developing a website for the upcoming Annual Meeting within the main IBANGS website, including information on dates, location, invited lectures, Preliminary Program, and attractive photographs of the venue.  

The Program Committee Chair discusses financial plans for the upcoming meeting with the Treasurer and Executive Committee, to ensure that the costs will be covered by the registration fee and other available revenues, even if attendance is lower than average.  Members of the Program Committee deliberate on potential topics and speakers for the invited Keynote Lecture.   The Program Committee consults with the President, Executive Committee, and other IBANGS members on potential topics and speakers for the invited Presidential Lecture.  Members of the Program Committee may also solicit or receive proposals for workshops to be scheduled for the day before the beginning of the official scientific program at the Annual Meeting.

In July, the announcement of the Call for Symposium Proposals is prepared by the Program Committee Chair for the Secretary to distribute through the IBANGS listserver and BANG-NET, and displayed on the IBANGS website.   An example is shown below.

Please see past Programs for examples of content, format, and schedule.  The Program and Executive Committees make a particular effort to encourage and include women and underrepresented minorities in speaker selection, as well as in all phases of the meeting planning and publicity.  The NIH R13 conference grant contains a requirement for encouraging and including women and underrepresented minorities in the IBANGS program.

In recent years, the Program has contained the following components:

            One invited Keynote Lecture is chosen by deliberations among the current IBANGS Program Committee.  The lecture and question period is one hour.  The speaker receives travel reimbursement, to the extent available with existing IBANGS funds.  Reimbursement up to $2000 has been possible in recent years, using NIH R13 conference grant travel funds. The Program Committee chooses an IBANGS member to introduce the speaker.  Often the member of the Program Committee who proposed the Keynote speaker serves to introduce the speaker.

            One Presidential Lecture is chosen by that year’s IBANGS President.  The lecture and question period is one hour.  The speaker receives travel reimbursement, to the extent available with existing IBANGS funds.  Reimbursement up to $2000 has been possible in recent years, using NIH R13 conference grant travel funds.   The IBANGS President usually introduces the speaker.

            One invited Distinguished Scientist Award Lecture.  The speaker is chosen by the Awards Committee.  The lecture and question period is one hour.  The speaker may be reimbursed for part or all of their registration fee, depending on current IBANGS financial circumstances.  The Chair of the Awards or Program Committee may introduce the speaker, or choose another committee member or IBANGS member for the introduction.  The introducer presents an award plaque to the Awardee after the lecture.

            One invited Young Scientist Award Lecture.  The lecture and question period is one hour.  The speaker may be reimbursed for part or all of their registration fee, depending on current IBANGS financial circumstances.  The Chair of the Awards or Program Committee may introduce the speaker, or choose another committee member or IBANGS member for the introduction.  The introducer presents an award plaque to the Awardee after the lecture.

            Five Symposia.  Each symposium is generally 2 hours, with 4 invited speakers.  Each lecture and question period totals 30 minutes.   Speakers may be reimbursed for part or all of their registration fee, depending on current IBANGS financial circumstances.  The NIH R13 conference travel grant has been able to support reimbursement of $250 of the registration fee to invited symposium speakers.  Usually the symposium organizer(s) chair the session and introduce each speaker.  Outside support for symposia is welcome, and symposia chairs are encouraged to solicit contributions from outside sources that would not present scientific conflicts of interest.  IBANGS has final authority over the topic area and speaker selection.

            One or two sessions of Selected Short Talks.  Selected Talk sessions are generally 1 – 1   hours with 4-6 speakers.  Each talk and question session is 15 minutes.  The Program Committee chooses the talks from the abstracts submitted for poster presentations, informs those selected, and confirms their willingness to give a talk.  A speaker may be a co-author on one or more posters on a topic separate from the talk presentation.  The Program Committee chooses an IBANGS member to chair each Selected Talk Session and introduce the speakers.

            One Outstanding Travel Awardee Session.  The Travel Award session is generally 1  - 2 hours with 4 speakers.  Each talk and question session is 15-30 minutes.  The Program Committee selects recommended Awardees to the Principal Investigator of the NIH R13 conference grant, currently John Crabbe, who approves the final selection.  The Program Committee chair informs those selected, and confirms their willingness to give a talk.  Speakers may be co-authors of posters on a topic separate from their talks.

            One or two Poster Sessions.  At least 4 hours are scheduled for each of one or two official Poster Session(s). Light refreshments are usually available during the Poster Session(s).  Ideally, all posters are displayed throughout the entire Annual Meeting, at a location close to the lecture room and/or coffee break area.  The Program Committee initially reviews all poster abstracts received, to ensure their relevance to IBANGS.  The Program Committee arranges the poster abstracts in a sequence of posterboard numbers, to maximize groupings of topics.

            Continental breakfasts, coffee breaks between sessions, lunch each day, one free afternoon to explore the locale, and a closing Banquet dinner, are traditional components of the Program.

The Program Committee is responsible for posting updated electronic versions of the Preliminary Program on the IBANGS website, several months before the Annual Meeting, and for posting a Final Program about one month before the Annual Meeting.  

The Program Committee is responsible for assembling a hardcopy booklet of the Program and Abstracts for distribution to registrants at the Annual Meeting. 

At the end of the Annual Meeting, the Program Committee Chair is responsible for ensuring that the final version of the Program and Abstracts is placed within the Past Meetings menu on the IBANGS Annual Meetings website link.  Soon after the Annual Meeting, the Program Committee Chair must provide a financial accounting of the meeting to the IBANGS Treasurer, to ensure rapid submission of an invoice of appropriate meeting expenses to the R13 grant accountant, who in turn makes payment to IBANGS

 

Sample Call for Symposium Proposals

From:[email protected] [mailto:[email protected]]
Sent: Friday, July 17, 2009 12:10 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [Bang_net] Call for Symposium Proposals for the 12th Annual Genes, Brain and Behavior Meeting of IBANGS 2010

 

Call for Symposium Proposals for the
12th Annual Genes, Brain and Behavior
Meeting of IBANGS 2010


Keynote lecture: 
Dr Mary-Anne Enoch
Genetics of Alcoholism in Humans.

Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada, May 12-16, 2010

The 12th Annual Meeting of the International Behavioural and Neural Genetics Society (IBANGS) will be held in Halifax, Nova Scotia from May 12-16th, 2010.

The IBANGS meeting provides an excellent opportunity for those involved in research in the fields of behavioural genetics and neurogenetics to present their latest findings, to learn about new research developments, and to interact with others with similar interests. The IBANGS meeting will be hosted by Dalhousie University.

For more information about IBANGS and to see programs from previous meetings, please refer to the IBANGS website http://www.ibangs.org.

The meeting will run over 4 days and include a mix of lectures, broadly-themed symposia, and short talks as well as a poster session. Building on the success of previous meetings, a diverse range of topics will cover all aspects of behavioural genetics.

The Program Committee now invites IBANGS members and non-members to submit proposals for symposia. Non-member proposals should be sponsored by an IBANGS member.

Symposium proposals will be accepted with a deadline of October 1, 2009.  Symposium topics can cover any area of behavioural genetics and neurogenetics, and themes showcasing the range of experimental model organisms are particularly welcomed.

Symposia are generally 2 hours in length and include 4 speakers. Proposal submissions should include an abstract that describes the rationale and assurances that all speakers have agreed to participate, in addition to a list of the speakers with a brief description of each talk.

Proposal abstracts should not exceed 500 words. All symposium participants must register for the meeting and pay the registration fee; funding to partially reimburse the registration fee (but not travel expenses) after the meeting is anticipated for participants of accepted symposia. Oral presentations will be limited to one per person.

Please submit proposals electronically to one of the program committee members:
Richard Brown -- [email protected]
Josh Dubnau -- [email protected]
David Wolfer – [email protected]

At a later date, we will announce the construction of oral sessions that may include speakers by invitation, nomination, or proposal.

For more information about the meeting and for details on registration, please visit the meeting website at www.ibangs.org.

Program Committee for the 2010 IBANGS Annual Meeting:

Richard Brown (Dalhousie University)

Joshua Dubnau (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)

David Wolfer (University of Zurich)

 

Local Organizing Committee

The main duty of the IBANGS Local Organizing Committee is to organize the venue for the Annual Meeting.   IBANGS Annual Meetings are traditionally held in May, at a location that encourages participation by members, and maximizes attendance by students and postdoctoral fellows at local universities.  

The Chair of the Program Committee is usually the Chair of the Local Organizing Committee.

Committee appointments are usually for 1 year.   The number of committee members has ranged from 3 to 6.  Committee members are appointed by the Program Committee Chair, who is the IBANGS member hosting the Annual Meeting.  

The work of the Local Organizing Committee for planning the Annual Meeting begins in June.  Reservations are made for rooms required for the Annual Meeting.  These include the main lecture room, a spacious poster session area, and an area for vendor exhibits.  Arrangements are made for affordable, high-quality audiovisual equipment, poster boards, and a registration desk.  Affordable, high quality catering is arranged for the banquet, lunches, and coffee breaks.  Locations of the banquet, lunches, and coffee breaks are designed for convenience to the lecture room location.  Meeting and meal areas must have provisions for reasonable accommodation of people with special needs, such as hearing, diet, and mobility.

Housing accommodations are reserved at convenient, affordable, comfortable hotels and university dormitories.  The goal is to include some low budget rooms and some upscale rooms, with sufficient choices to meet the needs of all participants. Housing must include options for reasonable accommodation of people with special needs, such as hearing, diet, or mobility. 

The Local Organizing Committee assembles the registration materials, including badges with names printed in a large font size, the Program and Abstract book, materials contributed by vendor exhibitors and sponsors, and sometimes a conference bag and writing materials. 

The Local Organizing Committee staffs the registration desk, often with student volunteers or IBANGS members.  In consultation with the Executive Committee, the Local Organizing Committee arranges space for Sponsor exhibits, and for workshops or satellite meetings before the start of the official Annual Meeting.

The Local Organizing Committee arranges options for transportation between lodging and conference sites, and prepares maps of the area for inclusion in the IBANGS Annual Meeting website and for the hardcopy Program and Abstract Book.  

The Local Organizing Committee often arranges options for recreational events, tours of a highlight of the locale, evening entertainment such as music or theater, etc.  These external events are at the expense of the participant.

The Local Organizing Committee is responsible for all aspects of the smooth functioning of the Annual Meeting.  It is expected that members of the Local Organizing Committee will attend each day of the Annual Meeting, and be available to solve problems that may arise.

Preliminary Local Organizing Committee for the 2010 IBANGS Annual Meeting:

Richard Brown, Dalhousie University, Chair

Rhian Gunn, Dalhousie University

 

 

Document completed September 2009

by Jacqueline Crawley, IBANGS President 2009-2010, with input from current members of the IBANGS Executive Committee and all Committee Chairs