2020 ISBI as a Fully Virtual Conference
The safety and well-being of our participants is our priority. We thank you for participating in the poll sent out early this week. Based on your preferences and evaluating the announcements, guidance, and news released by relevant authorities regarding COVID-19, the IEEE Signal Processing Society and the IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society are now moving ISBI 2020 to a fully virtual conference. We were looking forward to seeing everyone at ISBI in Iowa City. However, we are now excited for the opportunity to innovate an engaging virtual conference. The organizing committee is now working to create a virtual experience that will be rewarding for both presenters and attendees.
We thank you for your understanding and support in this difficult time. This is a fast-moving issue, affecting events worldwide. We will be happy to help in inquiries you have about the presentation of your work and related concerns. Immediate guidance for authors, and questions about registration and participation are given below. We are actively discussing several options, with full details to be announced soon.
Information for Authors of Accepted Papers
Both oral and poster papers at the main conference will be presented by the author creating a 15-minute pre-recorded video within the virtual conference. The authors need to upload the video presentation for the associated paper to be included in IEEE Xplore.
All accepted workshop and conference abstracts will be presented at the virtual conference as a 7 minute video presentation. Authors will also be required to be available for a Q&A session of their paper via the Whova app.
We will provide more detailed instructions soon, particularly on how to record your presentations. In the interim, please do begin preparing your talk and associated visuals. Your presentation should be timed carefully to not exceed the time allocation.
Virtual Conference Dates
The conference will still take place between April 3-7, as these are the dates people have allocated to attend the conference. We expect most participants will still commit their time during this window to participate in the conference, and have discussions with fellow researchers around the world.
Travel Cancellation
Please review any previously confirmed travel, and proceed with contacting those providers for cancellation policies. You may want to consider the following advice:
Flights: Many airlines are waiving the change fee on Non-Refundable Fare tickets provided you bought a ticket within a certain time window. Many airlines are also offering refunds if travel is cancelled due to the COVID-19 outbreak. Please check whether your preferred airline has enacted such policies. Please read carefully the fine print in any travel insurance you may have purchased as most plans will not cover cancellation of travel as a precautionary measure.
Hotels: If you have made a hotel reservation on your own, please check the cancellation policy and contact the hotel or booking agent directly to cancel as soon as possible to avoid any fees.
Conference Registration Fee
Registration will provide each participant with an access code to participate in sessions. For authors, registration is required for accepted papers to be considered for inclusion into IEEE Xplore. The registration funds collected will be used to support the infrastructure needed to host and support the virtual conference.
Tutorials and Additional Conference Content
We will send details soon for additional technical events purchased during ISBI registration, including tutorials and challenges, and we are exploring ways to provide this content virtually as well.