COMBINE 2011
Dates: September 3–7, 2011
Location: Heidelberg, Germany
Hosted by: Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS)
The Computational Modeling in Biology Network (COMBINE) is an initiative to coordinate the development of the various community standards and formats in systems biology and related fields.
In 2010, the systems biology standards community inaugurated a new, broader series of meetings to replace, among other events, individual SBML, SBGN, and BioPAX meetings. The new meetings, named COMBINE (Computational Modeling in Biology Network) and HARMONY (Hackathon on Resources for Modeling in Biology) are a recognition of the fact that there are multiple allied standardization efforts that should work more closely together to ensure smooth interoperability.
The first annual COMBINE meeting took place in Edinburgh from Oct 6th to 9th, 2010. The second COMBINE meeting took place on September 3–7, 2011, in Heidelberg, immediately following the 12th International Conference on Systems Biology (ICSB2011).
 List of attendees |  Poster List |  Nature Precedings COMBINE 2011 collection |  EVO Feed |  Travel Information |  Photos |  Exit Survey |
Live Stream: http://studio.villa-bosch.de/deutsch/sites/live.asp
(only works with Internet Explorer Version 5.5 and higher)
Agenda
COMBINE is a workshop-style event with oral presentation, posters and breakout sessions. The five meeting days included talks about the COMBINE standards and associated or related standardization efforts, as well as presentations of tools using these standards. Oral presentations were selected from the submitted abstracts. In addition to oral presentations, poster sessions allowed people to inform each other about their software and other projects in a setting that allowed interaction and in-depth discussion.
Session schedule
COMBINE 2011 was organized into sessions, largely built based on the attendees' suggestions. Those sessions were grouped according to overall themes as summarized in the table below.
The detailed agenda is on a separate page.
| Sat 3 | Sun 4 | Mon 5 | Tue 6 | Wed 7 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Simulation and analysis | Open work session | Mathematical model semantics | Open work session | Visual representation |
| break | break | break | break | break |
| Simulation and analysis | Mathematical model semantics | Mathematical model semantics | Visual representation | Applying Standards: Tools and Databases |
| lunch | lunch | lunch | lunch | lunch |
| Interoperability | Mathematical model semantics | Biological pathway semantics | Visual representation | Applying Standards: Tools and Databases |
| break | break | break | break | break |
| Interoperability | Mathematical model semantics | Biological pathway semantics | Visual representation | Wrap-up |
| 17:00-18:30 Keynote: Michael White | 17:00-18:30 Keynote: Peer Bork | |||
| 19:00 - 22:30 Get-together | 19:30 - 23:00 Conference dinner |
Example of COMBINE standards, associated efforts and related efforts discussed in different sessions:
| Simulation and analysis: | SED-ML; KiSAO; SBRML | |
| Interoperability: | MIRIAM URIs, SBO | |
| Mathematical model semantics: | SBML; NineML, CellML, FieldML | |
| Biological pathway semantics: | BioPAX | |
| Visual representation: | SBGN | |
| Applying Standards - Tools and Databases: | all |
Conference dinner
There was a conference dinner (sponsored by HITS) on Monday, September 5th at the restaurant S'Kastanie.
Welcome get-together
On Saturday September 3 we had a welcome get-together at 7:00 PM in the O'Reilly's Irish Pub (sponsored). There was fireworks in the old town and the castle will be illuminated that night. This is one of the major events in Heidelberg each year and definitely a nice experience.
More on presentations, discussions etc.
Please send your presentations to Linda Taddeo, who will put them on the detailed agenda page.
You have also the possibility to publish them in the Nature Precedings COMBINE 2011 collection. Please use the dedicated submission page.
To organise or participate to a breakout discussion, we had a Google spreadsheet.
Location
COMBINE 2011 was held at the excellent conference facilities of Studio Villa Bosch in Heidelberg. The address is Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 33, 69118 Heidelberg, Germany.
Visit the Studio Villa Bosch directions page for detailed information about how to reach the venue.
<html><iframe width="748" height="400" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" marginheight="0" marginwidth="0" src="http://maps.google.de/maps/ms?hl=de&ie=UTF8&t=h&msa=0&msid=218170271103877868776.0004a3b47d58aae341644&ll=49.4098,8.705807&spn=0.022338,0.064201&z=14&output=embed"></iframe>
<a target="_blank" href="http://maps.google.de/maps/ms?hl=de&ie=UTF8&t=h&msa=0&msid=218170271103877868776.0004a3b47d58aae341644&ll=49.4098,8.705807&spn=0.022338,0.064201&z=14&source=embed" style="color:#0000FF;text-align:left">View a larger version of this COMBINE 2011 map</a></html>
Registration
CLOSED (August 25, 2011)
Please note: Your registration only becomes valid after paying the conference fee.
Registration Fee
Regular Registration (after July 15): 90 €
Rest assured that you will get your money's worth out of the registration fee:
- Five full hot lunches (Saturday to Wednesday)
- Welcome get-together (including food) on Saturday in the O'Reilly's Irish Pub
- Conference dinner on Monday at the restaurant S'Kastanie
- Coffee, refreshments and snacks during meeting hours, and coffee breaks all five days
- Transportation between Heidelberg city centre and the meeting venue (bus shuttle)
Payment
We can accept payment of the registration fee using the following alternative approaches:
1) Bank Transfer
If you chose to pay via bank transfer, please transfer the registration fee to the following bank account:
Name: HITS gGmbH
Bank: Volksbank Kraichgau Wiesloch-Sinsheim eG
Bank code: 672 922 00
Account number: 27995241
IBAN: DE32 6729 2200 0027 9952 41
Bank Identifier Code (BIC): GENODE61WIE
In the transfer, please include the keyword "COMBINE 2011" plus your full name.
2) PayPal/Credit Card
Alternatively, you can choose the appropiate registration fee here and transfer it using PayPal.
<html> <form action="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" method="post" enctype="application/x-www-form-urlencoded">
<SELECT NAME="amount"> <OPTION VALUE="90.00">Regular 90 Eur </SELECT> <INPUT TYPE="image" SRC="https://www.paypal.com/en_US/i/btn/btn_paynowCC_LG.gif" METHOD="post" NAME="submit" ACTION="https://www.paypal.com/cgi-bin/webscr" alt="Make payment using PayPal" border="0">
</form> </html>
Additional notes
Poster dimensions
The maximum poster size is A0, which is 841mm (width) x 1189mm (height), or approximately 33 1/8 x 46 1/4 inches, in a portrait orientation.
Electrical supply
If you are traveling from abroad, be sure to bring an appropriate power plug converter for your laptop and all other electrical devices you're bringing. The domestic electric system in Germany uses 230 V at 50 Hz. The plug type (Type F) is depicted here.
It might be hard to find an appropriate converter in Heidelberg, so you better bring your own from your home country.
Internet access
The meeting room will have wireless internet access. We will provide the necessary access information on-site.
About Heidelberg
Public Transport
Schematic map of the public transport system within the city of Heidelberg
Detailed map of the public transport system
Interactive time table information
Taxi
Taxi Zentrale: Phone + 49 (0) 6221 - 302030
Taxi HDirekt: Phone + 49 (0) 6221 - 739090
Sightseeing
Heidelberg's most interesting sights (and there are many!) include the Old Town (Interactive map of the old town of Heidelberg) with the world-famous castle, Germany’s oldest university (celebrating its 625 year anniversary this year).
Please visit the official Heidelberg Tourism page for more information.
Information in German could also be found at Heidelberg mobil.
Funding acknowledgments
Support for COMBINE 2011 is being provided by the following organizations:
 |  |  |  |
Organization
COMBINE 2011 is being organized by:
- Martin Golebiewski, Heidelberg Institute for Theoretical Studies (HITS), Germany
- Michael Hucka, California Institute of Technology (Caltech), USA
- Nicolas Le Novère, European Bioinformatics Institute (EMBL-EBI), UK
- Sven Sahle, BioQuant at the University of Heidelberg, Germany
For local organisational issues and detailed inquiries please contact:
Martin Golebiewski
HITS gGmbH
Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35
69118 Heidelberg
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)6221 - 533 - 281
Fax: +49 (0)6221 - 533 - 298
For practical information on the setting and organisation please contact:
Kornelia Gorisch
HITS gGmbH
Schloss-Wolfsbrunnenweg 35
69118 Heidelberg
Germany
Phone: +49 (0)6221 - 533 - 246
Fax: +49 (0)6221 - 533 - 298
Linda Taddeo
Caltech
1200 E California Blvd.
MC 139-74
Pasadena, CA 91125
USA
Phone: +01-626-395-3375
Fax: +01-626-395-3336