[BiO BB] Call for papers: 5th International Biocuration Conference Washington DC (submission deadline: October 15, 2011)

[Raja Mazumder]

Dear colleagues,
The International Biocuration Conference is a unique event for curators and developers of biological databases to discuss their work, promote collaborations, and foster a sense of community in this very active and growing area of research. In preparation for the 5th International Biocuration Conference (http://pir.georgetown.edu/biocuration2012.html) (April 2-4, 2012; Washington DC), we invite you to submit your work to be considered for publication in a special issue of Database: The Journal of Biological Databases and Curation (http://database.oxfordjournals.org/). Additionally your work will be considered for an oral presentation at the Biocuration 2012 meeting. This is a great opportunity to enhance the recognition of our profession by the greater biological research communities.

Submitters are welcomed to select amongst topics of the seven sessions in Biocuration 2012:
1. Ontologies, standards and best practices, including gold standard datasets.
2. Protein annotation; sequences, structures and pathways.
3. Community annotation and Wikis.
4. Genomics and metagenomics data curation.
5. HTP data (focus on NGS and MS data) curation and presentation.
6. Literature collection, text mining and curation.
7. Tools to assist curation, including automated pipelines.

Accepted papers will be given special consideration by the Biocuration 2012 session chairs for selection as oral presentations. In the event that an accepted paper does not fit the scope of any of the session topics, the paper will still be considered for publication in DATABASE, although it may not be invited for an oral presentation at the conference.

The Journal DATABASE will create a virtual issue with papers from the Biocuration Conference in Washington DC on April 2-4, 2012. This virtual issue will be printed and distributed to conference attendees. Because of this, the review process for these papers will be expedited, making the following submission deadlines non-negotiable:

• Call for papers: August 1, 2011
• Submission deadline: October 15, 2011
• First decisions: November 15, 2011
• Deadline for revisions: December 15, 2011
• Final decisions: January 10, 2012
• Conference: April 2-4 2012

Authors wishing to submit to DATABASE for the 2012 BIOCURATION VIRTUAL ISSUE should go to the DATABASE home page (http://database.oxfordjournals.org/) and follow the guidelines on the "Instructions to Authors" section. When ready, authors will start the process of submission by following the link "Submit Now!".

All authors must CLEARLY state for the staff at DATABASE that they are submitting this manuscript for consideration for the 2012 Annual Biocuration Conference. This way their staff may ensure appropriate fast-track options for inclusion in the proceedings of this meeting. Finally, when filling the DATABASE submission form, authors MUST select "Biocuration Conference Paper" as their manuscript type:

We look forward to your participation at the 5th International Biocuration Conference.

Kind regards,

- The Biocuration 2012 Organizing Committee.