The Japanese Society of Bioinformatics

The Japanese Society of Bioinformatics (JSBi) was established in the year 1999 for promoting researches and educational activities on bioinformatics, relevant technologies and industries in Japan. JSBi tries to improve global relationship as a associate of AASBi and an allied regional group of ISCB (International Society for Computational Biology). JSBi’s membership mainly consists of 630 regular members and 34 supporting members.  The most significant event of the Society is the General Meeting, which is held every year and to which all the members are invited to participate. General Meetings held as a part of an international meeting (GIW) till 2006. Since GIW became an official meeting of AASBi from 2007, the General Meeting will be held individually in Japan. The official language will continue to be English and participants from worldwide are welcome.  Two vital activities of JSBi are the activity of Special Interest Groups (SIGs) and regional Working Groups. Each SIG has its own chief-editor and steering committee. Each SIG holds its own meeting; JSBi members can attend freely, listen to the talks, and at times present their own research results. The Working Groups benefit the JSBi members who live comparatively far from Tokyo since many SIG meetings are held in Tokyo or its suburbs. Presently, there are five Working Groups in various areas of Japan and their existence will motivate the local happenings on bioinformatics. Other activities comprise the proposal of a standard prospectus for bioinformatics education in graduate schools and universities and editing of an encyclopaedia of bioinformatics (in Japanese). The encyclopaedia, written by hundreds of JSBi members and researchers in related areas are published. Newsletters are delivered to JSBi members twice a year. Summer schools for undergraduates and young scientists are organized and financially supported annually by JSBi.