Message from the President

Michele ‘Nish’ Nishiguchi, President (president@sicb.org) 

Fall is upon us and soon we will all be gathering in Pittsburgh for our annual meeting this coming January. I am excited to be immersed in new innovative science, catch up with old colleagues and friends, and enjoy meeting our newest members who may be attending SICB for the first time. It’s always a pleasure to pass the baton of knowledge and also learn from many of our newest generation of scholars on how they are tackling the world of scientific endeavor in today’s climate.

I am happy to be announcing that we will again sponsor our local Pennsylvanian artists through Skype a Scientist. Again, these local illustrators will be perusing the many talks and posters to gain insight on the science that is being presented, and interpret that in their own manner. The artists that participated in last year’s Portland meeting provided some unique and creative work that will be published in our own IOB Journal in the coming months, and I have been working with Skype a Scientist to try and continue this idea for future meetings.

I am also grateful for the many donors (large and small) that have provided support for our society this past year. Through student and now postdoctoral support, food insecurity and workshop and symposium funding, these donations provide a much needed gap where funding is becoming scarce in our present environment. SICB hopes to continue these efforts, which is a “pay it forward” attitude to invest in our future science scholars and leaders. So if you are at the meeting, and you see a Venmo QR code, reach down in that pocket to spare a few dollars (especially if you have been a previous recipient) and support SICB.

 

Message from the President-Elect

Rick Blob, President-Elect (president.elect@sicb.org)

Coming together for the annual SICB meeting is always a time to look forward to. We’re excited for SICB to be a home for integrative biologists to share ideas and build community. SICB is committed to promoting wide participation in science and we have many continuing efforts and new initiatives with that goal, including our new partnership with Journal of Experimental Biology to enhance support for postdocs to attend the meeting.

 In addition to the annual meeting, SICB has several activities where you can participate throughout the year, including webinars and in person regional meetings. Keep an eye out for these opportunities through Society social media and email announcements. Serving on SICB committees is another great way to stay connected and help shape how SICB promotes science — check our list of committees for roles that interest you, and sign up on our volunteer sheet or contact me (president.elect@sicb.org) to share your interest. And if SICB means a lot to you, we hope you’ll spread the word to colleagues and invite them to attend the meeting and join the Society. Widely sharing SICB’s outlook is one of the best ways we can strengthen integrative organismal biology research and education for the future.

 

Message from the Program Officer and Program Officer Elect

Matt McHenry, Program Officer (programofficer@sicb.org) and Britt Heidinger, Program Officer – Elect (programofficer.elect@sicb.org)

SICB 2027 has drawn nearly 1,800 talks and posters that are organized into 188 sessions, about as many as the Portland meeting. The meeting will feature plenary talks by John Hutchinson (Royal Veterinary College), on the evolutionary biomechanics of terrestrial locomotion and Daniel Lieberman (Harvard University) on whether humans are the most energetically extravagant species on the planet. Twelve symposia will feature topics ranging from neuroethology to paleontology, polyploidy, and animal aesthetics, with 11 complementary sessions. The new Division of Physiology (DPHYS), formed by the merger of DCE and DCPB, introduces itself in a special session, and legacy sessions will honor Michaela Hau, Scott Santos, and Peter Wainwright. Nearly 200 students are competing for Best Student Paper awards on the first two days and a closing celebration ends the meeting.

In planning SICB 2027, we have continued to innovate on how the meetings are organized, with the aim of improving the meeting experience. As always, that work relies heavily on the divisional program officers (DPOs) and division chairs. Many of this year’s changes in planning were made possible by Claude Code. With it we built software that handles much of the administrative bookkeeping and takes on tasks that were impractical before. For example, it checks the schedule for conflicts, such as a presenter booked in two rooms at once, a session chair whose own talk overlaps the session they chair, or two talks with a shared author running side by side.

Although our programming was facilitated by software, people (not AI) planned the SICB 2027 program. The DPOs grouped the contributed talks and posters into sessions and gave them their titles. Symposium organizers built the symposia, and the divisional representatives chose the Best Student Paper sessions. Every session, along with its time and room, was designed by a person.

We also built a website for planning your own program, called the “SICB 2027 Alt Site.” This beta version will be offered alongside the Society’s regular meeting website and app. Watch for its announcement before the meeting, and please send us your suggestions for improving it.

We thank the DPOs, symposium organizers, and Best Student Paper representatives for the many hours they gave to this program. We look forward to seeing you in Pittsburgh.

Message from the Treasurer 

Brian Tsukimura, Treasurer (treasurer@sicb.org)

SICB had a strong overall financial position in FY2026, concluding June 30, 2025. However, we ran a deficit in operational revenues of $40,256. Our investments were very strong, leaving SICB with a net income of $273,900. Before our investments, the Society recorded approximately $1.413 million in operating revenue against $1.499 million in operating expenses.

Our income is based upon Membership, investments, journal royalties, and conference income (including registrations and sponsorships), [in increasing amounts] the latter being around 55% of the total. Our conference expenses are about 1/3 of the total costs, which may increase with the expanding inflation rate we are currently experiencing. We have increased our support for numerous programs for the society and at the conference which will require greater mechanism to continue to maintain, including our strong support of the student/ and post-doc support. To assist in compensating for expected increases, we have slowly raised the amount of our registration fees and applied a credit fee (to compensate for nearly $80k in credit card fees). We also anticipate that future meetings in larger cities will have increased expenses that we are attempting to get in front of, so that there isn’t sticker shock for those meetings.

We stand strongly in support of the numerous activities and programs that are currently funded through our operations, and thus are attempting to prepare our financial structure ahead of large city expenses. For instance, Portland coffee was about $135/gallon and a plate of cookies $65.

FY2026 should be viewed as a financially successful year overall, but with a cautionary operating story underneath the headline result. Strong journal royalties, contributions, meeting revenue, and especially investment returns produced approximately $274,000 in positive net income and increased SICB’s already strong net-asset position.

At the same time, ordinary operations generated an over $40,000 deficit, versus a roughly break-even budget. For FY2027 and beyond, the key financial management question is therefore not SICB’s immediate financial stability—which remains excellent—but whether recurring operating revenues can consistently support the Society’s growing expense base without relying on a greater diversity of income streams.

Message from the Secretary and Secretary-Elect

Vanessa Hilliard, Secretary (secretary@sicb.org) and Caitlin Gabor, Secretary-Elect (secretary.elect@sicb.org)

In spring 2026, we held elections for three society-wide offices: President-Elect, Treasurer-Elect, and Member-at-Large. Congratulations to Thom Sanger (incoming President-Elect), Lisa Whitenack (incoming Treasurer-Elect), and Christine Lattin (incoming Member-at-Large). Thom, Lisa, and Christine will take office in February 2027. New divisional leadership was also elected for most SICB divisions and DAB and DEDE approved amendments to their bylaws. We also saw the successful merger of DCPB and DCE to form the new Division of Physiology (DPHYS).  Congratulations to all the new elected officers, and thank you to all SICB members who agreed to be candidates. Your time and willingness to serve SICB is very much appreciated! The full election report can be found here. 

 

SICB is an amazing scientific home for many of us and the annual meetings are an important formative experience for many students; this all happens through the service of SICB members. At any point in time there are nearly 200 SICB members serving the society. The society-wide and divisional nominating committees are forming now to identify candidates for the 2027 elections. If you are interested in being a candidate, please contact the appropriate nominating

committee. The list of upcoming officers elections can be found on SICB Schedule of Upcoming Elections webpage. 

 

Communications Editor Report

Molly Jacobs, SICB Communications Editor (comm.editor@sicb.org)

A peek into SICB Leadership conversations – updates on the SICB Strategic Plan:

Every fall ahead of the annual meeting, there is a gathering of SICB leadership in the venue where the upcoming meeting will take place.  Over two and a half days, the SICB program committee meets to hammer out the meeting program, while the SICB executive officers meet for strategic discussions and planning. Here’s a peek at a session from the 2026 fall gathering, focused on the strategic plan.

Context: In 2025, SICB leadership and members worked together to develop SICB’s first ever five year strategic plan. We are now one year into the plan, so the leadership team was looking for progress, rather than completion.

Bold Step 1: Career Support and Mentorship. We have made significant progress establishing and broadening SICB’s mentoring program, which now reaches across all divisions and many career levels. We are also delighted that for the first time this year, SICB has been able to support postdocs with SICB-wide travel awards! In future years, we expect highlights to include more professional development and award opportunities across career stages, and an exploration of partnerships to support career paths, including those outside academia. Status: On Track

Bold Step 2: A Scientific Culture of Belonging for All. Since the establishment of SICB’s strategic plan, the landscape around this topic has shifted for both scientific institutions and funders. SICB’s commitment to this goal has not shifted, but our language and our tactics have shifted. We have held leadership training for the SICB Executive Committee, offered a series of career workshops targeting early career and other groups with less support, and at SICB 2026 held a series of conversations to support members navigating career the current environment. In the wake of the termination of the Bio-LEAPs grant program, we are seeking alternate avenues of support for a more comprehensive training program for all members focused on our culture of belonging.  Status: Some Progress

Bold Step 3: Financial Sustainability. Early successes in this area include work by the Executive Director and the treasurer on a dashboard and other materials to help SICB members better understand SICB finances, including challenges and opportunities. In future years, we expect highlights to include a significant push to increase the financial stability of our journals, improvements to SICB’s financial management, and the development and implementation of a comprehensive fundraising strategy. Status: Some Progress (see also the Treasurer’s report).

Bold Step 4: Membership Growth and Engagement. This bold step is still largely in the planning stages.  Currently, divisions have been tasked with evaluating their scientific scope and identifying areas of opportunity and innovative science. The membership committee has been tasked with identifying areas of opportunity for membership growth and retention, and the Public Affairs Committee has been tasked with developing a more comprehensive external communications strategy and evaluating our brand identity. Areas of particular interest include outreach at meeting locales, and partnerships with other scientific societies. Status: Planning

Update from the Editor, Integrative and Comparative Biology

Ulrike Muller, ICB Editor (editor.ICB@sicb.org)

ICB, IOB and the Social Media manager are proud to announce a new social event to be held each year at the annual meeting to celebrate SICB’s authors and winners of the ICB, IOB, and social media awards. 

To kick off this new social, ICB will honor its ‘top articles’. Eligible articles must be published in ICB within five years of the award year and must have attracted considerable attention, such as a high number of citations, downloads, and/or high Altmetrics scores. Articles are nominated and selected by the ICB editorial board.

The articles of the 2026 ICB top article awards will be honored at the first SICB media ICB IOB Journal Social at the 2027 annual SICB meeting in Pittsburgh, tentatively scheduled for Tuesday January 5 at 8 pm at the Pittsburgh conference center (tentative room assignment: room 405).

The following articles are the winners of the 2026 ICB top article award:

• • Pervasiveness of Biological Impacts of Artificial Light at Night  (Gaston, Kevin J., Simone Ackermann, Jonathan Bennie, Daniel TC Cox, Benjamin B. Phillips, Alejandro Sánchez de Miguel, and Dirk Sanders. “Pervasiveness of biological impacts of artificial light at night.” Integrative and Comparative Biology 61, no. 3 (2021): 1098-1110)
  • Open Hardware in Science: The Benefits of Open Electronics (Oellermann, Michael, Jolle W. Jolles, Diego Ortiz, Rui Seabra, Tobias Wenzel, Hannah Wilson, and Richelle L. Tanner. “Open hardware in science: The benefits of open electronics.” Integrative and comparative biology 62, no. 4 (2022): 1061-1075)
  • Multivariate Models of Animal Sex: Breaking Binaries Leads to a Better Understanding of Ecology and Evolution (McLaughlin, J. F., Kinsey M. Brock, Isabella Gates, Anisha Pethkar, Marcus Piattoni, Alexis Rossi, and Sara E. Lipshutz. “Multivariate models of animal sex: breaking binaries leads to a better understanding of ecology and evolution.” Integrative and Comparative Biology 63, no. 4 (2023): 891-906)
  • Gender Bias in the Study of Genital Evolution: Females Continue to Receive Less Attention than Males (Orbach, D. N. “Gender bias in the study of genital evolution: females continue to receive less attention than males.” Integrative and Comparative Biology 62, no. 3 (2022): 533-541)

Thanks so much to those who have served on our team and are rotating off: Rocky Parker, Wes Dowd and Kelly Diamond as well as Morgan Furze, and Tosha Kelly. We appreciate their service on our Editorial Board. 

 This year we will be welcoming Ryan Paitz, Ashley Love, Nicholas Barts, Ashley Blawas, Ximena Bernal, Sarah Wolfe, Thomas Cronin, Jessica Tingle, Michael Dillon, Miranda Sinnott -Armstrong and Crystal Reynaga. Thanks so much for coming aboard! 

 

Update from the Editor, Integrative Organismal Biology

Ignacio Moore, IOB Editor (editor.oib@sicb.org)

IOB has had a great year so far with a record number of submissions! 

We have a really great collaboration with the Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER) that has resulted in a grouping of 20+ articles. We hope these articles will be of particular interest to SICB members as most of us teach at universities and our colleagues at SABER can help us be more effective educators.

We also have a new collaboration with the Society for Vertebrate Paleontology that should result in more interactions between the societies.

Last year we initiated a Best Student Paper award and we are very excited to announce that the winner this year is Clinton Warren from Illinois State University. We were very excited to publish his paper and we will celebrate this award during the SICB journals social at the annual meeting. 

Finally, we also want to welcome new associate editors Sterling Nesbitt and Dylan Wainwright. Both are long time members of SICB and their backgrounds will broaden and enhance the expertise within the editorial board and ensure that manuscripts are handled appropriately. 

Please keep the submissions coming and let us know if you have any ideas of groupings that we can help facilitate. 

 

Update from SICB Media 

Suzanne Miller, SICB Media Manager (sicbmedia@sicb.org )

We’ve had a successful almost two year run in extending SICB’s reach and supporting our community with media by finding more ways to showcase all the wonderful science that is happening. 

Nearly every division having a rep for social platforms including our recently added DOB rep Rebecca Beneroff. Our YouTube talks are going well. Do be sure to subscribe to our channel and email sicbmedia@sicb.org if you’d like to have a talk filmed as a member of your division. 

Also, be sure to email the above email and I can connect you with your division rep if you’d like content posted about jobs at your school, divisional matters or contests, what’s new in your lab and your accomplishments. 🙂 If you’re attending SICB, be sure to mention to your chair or social platform rep at the divisional meeting, any ideas and or platforms you’d like for them to utilize. 

SICB’s platforms (Instagram, LinkedIn and Bsky) have seen major growth and member participation on a wider scale and we are gearing up for our first ever media award and documentary showing this year at SICB Pittsburgh. Alexa Sadier will be honored for not only her authorship in ICB but also her unique science communication on her research. (Jan 5th- part of the 8:00-9:30 pm SICB journals social) . 

I’m looking forward to another year, continuing to help foster community after the annual meeting, to spread the word about SICB members and the good science that continues to take place in difficult times. 

Student Support Committee Report

Rachel Cohen, Chair (chair.ssc@sicb.org)

The Student Support Committee is excited to review GIAR and FGST applications this year. Applications were due on October 23rd. 

 

Broadening Participation Committee Report

Susan Williams, Chair (chair.bpc@sicb.org)

The Broadening Participation Committee is gearing up for an exciting annual meeting! The BP Workshop will be on January 5 (12:00-1:15 pm) which will be a panel discussion on Science Across Languages: Presenting, Publishing, and Mentoring Beyond a First Language organized by SICB members Danna Sanchez and Laura Mendez. In this workshop, panelists will share how they built their careers using English as a second language. Lunch will be provided to the first 25 to register here. The BP Social will be on January 5, and we highly encourage recipients of the Professional Development Travel Awards to attend to be formally recognized and meet members of the BP committee and society leadership. We look forward to seeing everyone in Pittsburgh!  

Speaking of the BP Professional Development Travel Awards…The BP committee is currently reviewing the 133 applications we received. These awards are funded by a generous donation from the Gans Collections and Charitable Fund Inc., a foundation established by renowned vertebrate morphologist and functional anatomist, Carl Gans. As usual, the majority of applications were submitted by graduate students, but undergraduate student applications continue to increase. It is great to see this interest at such an early stage! Awardees will be contacted around November 20. 

 

Student-Postdoctoral Affairs Committee Report

Christine Lattin, Chair (chair.spdac@sicb.org)

We have several updates related to the Pittsburgh meeting:

• • We are once again working with our Divisional leadership to organize mentoring at the annual meeting. If you are interested in participating as a mentor or mentee, please make sure to sign up for the meeting before the end of Early Bird Registration on December 2 and look for a follow-up email with more details in early December.  
  • Terms for our Student/Postdoc Reps from the Divisions of Phylogenetics and Comparative Biology and Vertebrate Morphology will end after the meeting. If you are a grad student or postdoc member of those divisions and want to get involved with SPDAC, please email the Chair at chair.spdac@sicb.org. 
  • The Charlotte Mangum Student Worker & First-Timer’s Orientation will be combined with the Student-Postdoctoral Affairs Committee General Member Meeting from 5:30-7 pm on January 3. All student and postdoc members are encouraged to come meet their divisional reps, ask questions, and learn about trainee events at the meeting!
  • Our popular SPDAC Workshop on “Non-Academic Scientific Careers” returns with all-new panelists this year (date and time TBA). A panel of speakers from industry and nonprofit positions will answer audience questions. We will provide light snacks on a first-come, first-served basis. Keep an eye on the meeting website for more details!
  • We are again hosting a breakfast for new Assistant Professors who are about to start or have just started their positions, to meet, network, and share advice on how to thrive in their new faculty positions. This event will be Tuesday, January 5th – 7:00am – 8:00 am and you can sign up during meeting registration!
  • Stop by the SPDAC Booth during coffee breaks and poster sessions to “Ask a Student/Postdoc Rep” all your burning questions! We will have SPDAC stickers, button making, and candy! Keep an eye on the meeting website for more details about “themed” days at the booth with special guests on hand to answer questions about working at primarily undergraduate institutions, non-academic jobs, and more!

Public Affairs Committee Report

Phoebe Edwards, Chair (chair.PAC@sicb.org)

Each SICB annual meeting, the PAC oversees the  Science Journalism Program, where student attendees can write a piece on SICB presentations as their Charlotte Mangum Student Support job. This program is open to applications from graduate and undergraduate students. If you (or your students) are interested in this program, please make sure to have your application materials submitted by November 15th to the PAC chair email address above. See student journalism pieces from previous years here. Applicants may also be selected to write for the ICB blog.  

PAC is working on a new science communication workshop for the annual meeting, stay tuned! 

Finally, PAC will be looking for new members in the near future, as we will have a few people rotating off the committee after the 2027 annual meeting. If you are interested in working with us, please reach out to the chair, or one of our members, or chat with us in Pittsburgh for more information.  

 

Educational Council Report

Bill Ryerson, Chair (chair.EdCouncil@sicb.org)

The Educational Council soft-launched its teaching-focused workshop series with a “Course Chop Shop” in August. At the 2027 annual meeting, we will be advertising a full selection of planned workshops for the upcoming calendar year. You will have the opportunity to sign up for announcements about workshops and other education-focused events at our booth in Pittsburgh!

Each year the SICB meeting welcomes several posters and talks about education-related topics, from pedagogy to partnership & outreach. Keep an eye out for those on the program schedule! 

The Ed Council booth will be back again with ‘Teaching Table Topics’ at the 2027 meeting.  Stop by and chat and participate with SICB faculty members offering insight on various topics of interest including – Alternatives to Dissection in Anatomy, Flipping the Classroom in an AI World– to name a few. If you’d like to offer a Teaching Table Topic, please email Chair.EdCouncil@sicb.org

PUI Action Group Report

Eric Gangloff, Jenn Houtz, and Jenny Uehling, Action Group Co-Chairs (ejgangloff@owu.edu, jhoutz@allegheny.edu, juehling@wcupa.edu)

The Primarily Undergraduate Institution (PUI) Action Group is planning for another exciting round of events at SICB this year! We will continue to provide advice and camaraderie at our PUI booth in the exhibit hall, we will again organize mentoring villages to provide advice to prospective PUI applicants and current pre-tenure PUI faculty, and we will host another breakfast social. Stay tuned for more information about opportunities to volunteer at the booth and to participate in the mentoring villages. We look forward to seeing you in Pittsburgh!