The ISCB Student Conference Award supports registered postgraduate students in biostatistics, epidemiology, medical informatics or medical bioinformatics to attend and present their work at ISCB GMDS 2026 in Freiburg, Germany. We expect to grant around three awards (final number depends on application quality and volume). Selection will be made on the basis of the abstract and a summary of a paper to be presented – for details, see the eligibility criteria and submission procedure below.

Eligibility Criteria

• Registered for a postgraduate degree in biostatistics, epidemiology, medical informatics or medical bioinformatics
• Not a previous StCA winner
• Submission is original, unpublished and predominantly the student’s own work
• Acceptable topics encompass all areas of biostatistics, epidemiology, medical informatics or medical bioinformatics (methodological and applied). Results of particular studies are of interest only if the analysis has methodological implications or shows a novel and interesting application of novel methods to clinical or epidemiological research.

Applicants must be able to attend the conference and present their work to be selected as the StCA winners.

What the Award Covers

• The StCA will pay for registration, accommodation, a pre-conference course, conference dinner, and travel (all expenses will be prepaid on the winners behalf).
• The StCA winners will have their papers scheduled in a dedicated session at the conference. Their status as award winners will be indicated in the conference program.
• Upon selection, awardees must submit a travel budget to the StCA Subcommittee Chair (StCA@iscb.international) for approval by the ISCB Treasurer.

How to Apply

1. During the submission of an abstract via the conference submission system, you will find the “Awards Option” section at the bottom of the form. In this section, select the “StCA” checkbox.
2. Upload the following documents:
3. A summary of the paper of no more than 3 double-spaced pages of 12-point text with a maximum of three figures or tables on additional pages. The summary must be in blinded format, i.e., any indication of the student or further authors should not be included.
4. A letter from the student’s supervisor, on official letterhead of the student’s institution, confirming that the student is registered for a postgraduate degree, and that the paper to be presented is original, not previously published, and is predominantly the student’s own work. If the manuscript is co-authored, this letter should also include an indication of the level of involvement of the various authors.

Applicants will be notified of the results as soon as possible, usually within six weeks of the application submission due date. Applicants should not register for the conference until they have heard the outcome of their application for the Award. Non-selected submissions may still be considered for contributed oral or poster presentation.

Selection Process

• Applications will be judged by the ISCB StCA Subcommittee, and applicants will be notified of the results as soon as possible, usually within six weeks of the application submission due date. Evaluation of applications will concern the quality of the research described and its relevance to the application of novel methods to clinical and epidemiological research. The presentation of the application materials and the interest of the work to the ISCB members will be taken into consideration. The decisions made by the Subcommittee will be final.
• In selecting papers for Awards, each member of the ISCB StCA Subcommittee will independently grade each paper allocated to them by the Subcommittee Chair. In the case of ties in total grades, the Subcommittee will make the final selection through discussion.
• Members of the ISCB StCA Subcommittee must declare a conflict of interest in submissions from students with whom they have had substantial contact. Such contact certainly includes students supervised by or in the same department as Subcommittee members and may also include professional contact with the project as well as family links. The Subcommittee member with a conflict of interest in the submission will not grade it, other grades being scaled accordingly, and will not participate in discussions of that submission.
• The ISCB intends to make three awards. However, the ISCB StCA Subcommittee reserves the right to make more or fewer awards, or even none at all, subject to the approval of the ISCB President.
• Applications not selected for the StCA may still be considered for selection for an oral presentation or a poster presentation by the Scientific Program Committee.

In case of questions, please contact the StCA Subcommittee Chair via email: StCA@iscb.international

Introduced in 2025, the ISCB Conference Attendance Support Program (CASP) replaces earlier ISCB awards for scientists and participants from developing countries. It supports up to 17 attendees to participate in ISCB GMDS 2026 through a lottery-based selection system. The CASP will pay for registration, accommodation, conference course, conference dinner or conference excursion (recipient’s choice), and travel (all expenses will be prepaid except for travel, which will be reimbursed within two months after attending the conference).

Eligibility

To be eligible, the applicant must be either:

• A current postgraduate student (from any country), and/or
• A scientist working or attending school in a World-Bank-designated Developing Country (Low, Lower-middle, and Upper-middle income economies, according to the World Bank list of the fiscal year 2026) or in a country forming a National Group of the ISCB (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Romania (see National Groups (NatG) – ISCB).

Applicants who have previously received CASP or CFDC (Conference Fund for Developing Countries) are not eligible to apply.

What the Award covers

• Prepaid: Conference registration, accommodation, one conference course, and either the conference dinner or excursion (recipient’s choice).
• Reimbursed: Travel costs (within two months after the conference).

How to Apply

1. Submit an abstract (prepared according to the ISCB GMDS 2026 standard conference format) as a presenting author for either an oral or poster presentation using the conference submission system.
2. Indicate the request for the CASP support at the time of abstract submission (by checking the corresponding checkbox).
3. At the time of abstract submission, provide a PDF of a letter (on the official letterhead of the institution where the applicant is enrolled/employed) confirming the status of a current postgraduate student (for students) and/or an employment at an institution located in a Developing Country or an ISCB National Group country (for scientists).

The same confirmation letter may be used for both applications, StCA and CASP.

Selection

• Awards will only be considered for applicants whose abstracts are accepted for presentation (oral or poster) by the Scientific Program Committee (SPC).
• One award per presentation for one author will be given, without transfer to co-authors.
• A lottery-based selection will be made by a committee established for that purpose. Two separate lotteries will be conducted:
• Qualifying country applicants: 10 recipients (+ reserves)
• Student applicants: 7 recipients (+ reserves)
• Applicants qualifying under both categories (student + qualifying country) have a higher probability of being selected.
• The lottery is carried out immediately after abstract decisions to allow sufficient time for visa and travel arrangements.
• Recipients will be notified soon after the lottery results.

In case of questions, please contact the StCA Subcommittee Chair via email: StCA@iscb.international