Student Information

 

Dear Students:

As co-chair, together with Dario Coletti, of the Students Subcommittee of ISAC's Membership Services Committee, I am happy to announce a new feature that we will be organizing in the coming congress: the "Experts Corner". Beside the entrance to the main auditorium a big board will be placed where students will be invited to write questions, and you, expert members of the cytometry world, will be invited to answer them by writing your name and the time slot when you can answer. The idea is for short, informal Q&A mini-sessions to form out of these requests, which can be attended by anyone interested in hearing them besides the Q&A pair. There will be two "corners" available with chairs, a whiteboard and markers.

We already have a first question: "I would love to meet the experts in the field to discuss the following: What are the criteria needed to establish a good, successful and accredited lab for flow cytometry?" Is there any expert volunteer(s) that would like to answer this question? We would like this first Q&A session to take place in the first available time slot, which is on May 18th, somewhere between 12:00-14:00 (during the lunch break). We hope that with your help the "Experts Corner" will be a success, one more instance that will show the goodwill and commitment of the great cytometry community.

Best regards,

Dario Coletti dariocoletti@yahoo.it

Uriel Trahtemberg utk@017.net.il

Co-Chairs, ISAC Student Sub-committee of the Membership Services Committee.

 

Registration and Congress activities

At the last congress in Quebec, there were 87 students our of 893 academic attendees – that is 10%!  We hope to do as well in Budapest and are doing our best to make this congress an interesting and valuable experience for you.

  • As students you have special, reduced fees for Pre-Congress Courses and Congress Registration. 

          Please visit http://www.isac-net.org/congress2008/registration.php to register now!


  • Introductory Flow Cytometry and Image Cytometry Courses: These introductory courses take place for a full day Friday, May 16, 2008 and Saturday morning, May 17, 2008, just prior to the congress opening.  The courses are intended for beginning and intermediate users and are excellent opportunities to learn from experts in the field. For a modest cost they provide an amazing educational value. Both the Flow and Image courses were introduced at the ISAC Congress in 2006 and were a resounding success. The 2008 courses promise to be even better!  Plan to register early, since reservations will be accepted on a first come, first serve basis and seats are limited. http://www.isac-net.org/congress2008/registration.php


  • Tutorials – Concurrent tutorial sessions are scheduled for Saturday morning and early afternoon, May 17, 2008.  These one and a half hour tutorials are held on a diversity of subjects and are presented by the top scientists in their fields.  The tutorials are very affordable and are great resources for students who can usually accommodate them as part of their congress allowances.   For more information on tutorials, please visit http://www.isac-net.org/congress2008/tutorials.php.
  • A Scientific Professional Skills Workshop geared to students is being organized for Tuesday, May 20, 2008 from 20:00 – 22:00. This workshop will include talks on how to write a scientific paper, how to prepare oral and poster presentations, how to write and get grants and other practical information.   We would like to have an idea of how many people may attend this workshop, so if you are interested, please contact either Dario (dariocoletti@yahoo.it) or Uriel (utk@017.net.il).

 

Funding

ISAC has set aside funds specifically to help students come to the congress, called “Student Travel Awards”. In order to apply for these funds, you have to have an abstract accepted for poster or oral presentation AND you must be in need of financial support. Your application for the Travel Award must accompany your abstract submission.  Please note:  The deadline for application submissions is the same as the abstract deadline for Oral Presentations, December 3, 2007. At the last congress $34,000 worth of travel funds were awarded to 59 students attending the meeting, 29 from North America and 30 from other countries.

 

Student Awards

One of the reasons why ISAC congresses are great for students is that there are several awards categories, most of them specifically geared towards students:

  • Outstanding poster Award:  At the last ISAC Congress in Quebec City 10 Outstanding Poster awards were given to 10 students, each of whom received $200, which was kindly donated by Becton Dickinson.  In addition, the “Best Poster” received a copy of Current Protocols in Cytometry offered by Wiley Publishers.
  • The Exceptional Student Award:  Presented to an ISAC student member in recognition of their outstanding performance in the field of analytical cytology.  In 2006, Jennifer Lemon, received this award of $1,000.
  • The President’s Award for Excellence:  Presented to an outstanding young ISAC investigator. In 2006 Zachary Pinkus, a PhD student, received this award along with $1,000.

You can apply for any and all of these awards as part of the abstract submission process. Please note that the deadline for awards applications is the abstract deadline for Oral Presentations, December 3, 2007.

 

The Royal Treatment

Is there a specific scientist you’d like to meet who you think will be attending the congress?

Is there a specific subject you’d like some help with?

Is there something you’d like to discuss with someone with experienced and knowledgeable scientist in the field?

If you answered “yes” to any of these and you are attending the congress, drop us a line and we will do our best to make it happen! We will find out if the person you want to meet is attending the congress and/or we will find out who is best suited to help you among the congress attendees. Then we will make the arrangement so you can meet at the congress.

Dario Coletti dariocoletti@yahoo.it

Uriel Trahtemberg utk@017.net.il

 

The Expert’s Corner

During the congress there will be a message board in the ISAC Booth where anyone will be able to ask a question and it will be open for all the attending experts to answer.

Do you have a question to ask? You are welcome to post!

Are you an expert in what you do? You are welcome answer your fellow scientists’ queries!

See you at the board!

 

Accommodations

Accommodations in selected hotels have been reserved for participants and special rates have been negotiated for reservations made through the Asszisztencia Congress Bureau Ltd.  Recommended hotels are in close proximity of the congress venue, within 20 minutes by public transportation.  All rates include breakfast, taxes and charges. Please visit the hotel website at http://www.asszisztencia.hu/isac/index.php?c=2 for further information.

In addition to these hotels, Budapest offers a wide range of budget accommodation, hostels and hotels. Should you need budget accommodation please visit www.youthhostels.hu where you can browse and book online or by e-mail, fax or phone.

 

Getting there

Besides traveling directly by plane, you can save on airfare and enjoy a nice trip by using the train. Budapest has 3 main train stations from which international and domestic trains depart. Travel between the 3 stations and to the rest of the city is easily accessible through the metro system or by the Railbus service. There are direct rail links between Budapest and the major capitals and cities of Europe. Over 50 international trains arrive in and depart from Budapest daily.

Some suggested links: