Message from the President

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

As we are gearing up and heading to our annual meeting with new data, new ideas, and our next generation of SICB scholars (welcome first timers!), I want to not only welcome you but also acknowledge the support and guidance that SICB has for its members during challenging times. As scholars, mentors, students, and educators, we are uniquely positioned not just to seek answers to long standing biological questions, but to ask better questions—to observe, to adapt, and to illuminate the paths forward with evidence, compassion, and creativity. I look forward to meeting and talking to many of you at this meeting in order to listen and hear what each of you have been concerned about this past year, and how the society can navigate and provide the support our members need as we venture into unchartered waters.

Message from the President-Elect

Rick Blob (president.elect@sicb.org)

A hallmark of SICB is providing a welcoming environment. The boundaries on how each of us can do that may differ but, as we swim through the water together, each of us as members and representatives of the Society can share the goals of producing and promoting SICB science, and helping to sustain that science into the future.

As part of our welcoming environment, SICB values the participation of members and has many ways to become involved. There are many committees and positions where you can participate in Society activities. Look for our call to volunteer at the 2026 Annual Meeting, but you don’t have to wait — please email me at President.Elect@sicb.org if you are interested and we can identify ways for you to participate in SICB service. 

Message from the Program Officer and Program Officer Elect

Janet Steven (programofficer@sicb.org) and Matt McHenry (programofficerelect@sicb.org)

Have we got a meeting for you! The abstracts are in, the schedule is set, and we are looking forward to hearing all of your amazing science at SICB 2026 in Portland, Oregon. We have a strong lineup of Symposia with something for everyone, and many workshops to help you make connections and build skills.

We accepted a total of 1932 abstracts, and scheduled three poster sessions and 145 concurrent talk sessions. Check out the program and website for daily plenary talks, workshops on January 3rd, opportunities to make and donate art, and so much more! Don’t forget to register by December 1 for early-bird rates.

Getting to the conference hotel and conference center from the airport is an easy trip on light rail, and Portland has great food and activities. We are planning a meeting that will be safe, have the positive interactions you expect from SICB, and above all, let you share your science and network!

Message from the Treasurer and Treasurer-Elect

Brian Tsukimura, (treasurer@sicb.org)

SICB had a strong financial year in FY2025, which concluded June 30,2025. We exceeded expectations on operational performance and had conservatively strong investment returns.

After accounting for reimbursements from our various funds, SICB ended approximately  $30,000 in the black, reflecting careful financial management and continued support from our members and partners. Our investment portfolio also performed very well, finishing the year approximately $261,000 in the black (net of investment advisor fees). These earnings are distributed proportionally between the Society’s general funds and the ‘named’ funds that are managed by SICB.

Both of our journals continue to be important contributors to the Society’s financial health. Integrative and Comparative Biology (ICB) remains a significant source of net revenue, while Integrative Organismal Biology (IOB) continues to grow steadily, with submissions increasing year over year.

 

Looking ahead, we will continue to monitor the growth trends across all funds, including the general fund, to ensure that SICB remains on a sustainable long-term financial path. We are continuing to refine our registration fee-setting process, using a detailed modeling tool that accounts for all predictable variables. However, the biggest unknown remains travel funding and members’ ability to attend the annual meeting with the current climate. Early indicators for the January 2026 meeting suggest that it will be a normal sized meeting and vibrant gathering, with an exceptionally strong scientific and social program.

Overall, SICB remains in a healthy financial position and well-prepared for the year ahead. 

Message from the Secretary and Secretary-Elect

Marianne Porter (secretary@sicb.org) and Vanessa Hilliard (secreatryelect@sicb.org) 

In spring 2025, we held elections for three society-wide officers, as well as voted on amendments to the Society-wide constitution and bylaws.  Constitutional and bylaws amendments were approved. Caitlin Gabor will be our new Secretary-Elect, Britt Heidinger was elected as our Program Officer-Elect, and Teri Orr will be the incoming SICB Member-at-Large. Caitlin, Britt, and Teri will take office in February 2026. New divisional leadership was also elected for most SICB divisions and four divisions approved amendments to their bylaws. 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 2026 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. If you would like to volunteer for a SICB committee you can always fill out our Volunteer To Serve form or reach out Rick Blob (President.Elect@sicb.org).  

Communications Editor Report

Molly Jacobs, comm.editor@sicb.org

At SICB, our top priority is supporting and protecting our members while providing a platform for their awesome science. SICB has long been committed to making sure its meetings and its journals are welcoming to all scientists, particularly those early in their careers.  We are currently trying to tackle the very challenging task of remaining true to our core principles and priorities, while also successfully navigating the fast-changing science communication and science funding environment that we find ourselves in. The words that we use change over time – sometimes slowly, and sometimes rapidly in response to external circumstances.  Although our language has recently shifted with the times, our core priorities have not. 

The way we communicate – in our journals, by email, on our website, on social media – will be a topic of conversation at the upcoming SICB meeting.  Please consider joining the conversation – find me or any Executive Officer, come to the open meeting time with the SICB President and Executive Director, or look for opportunities to talk with other members at workshops and special events, including the ‘Leapfrogging for Change’ events on Jan 3, 5, and 7 and the listening booth at the poster session. 

SICB belongs to all of us, and I hope we can work together to ensure that it stays that way in perpetuity.
  

Update from the Editor, Integrative and Comparative Biology

Ulrike Müller, Editor in Chief, ICB, editor.icb@sicb.org

ICB is looking for members in our community who are interested in becoming knowledge stewards.  What is a knowledge steward, you might ask. ICB wants to help protect scientific knowledge, especially in topic areas that need protection, such as reproductive biology.

Help ICB make a difference as science in the US is experiencing seismic shifts. Regulatory changes, economic uncertainty and declining public sentiment are causing scientists of all career stages to rethink their role as knowledge creators, stewards, communicators. To support each other in finding new paths for doing and communicating science, we need to draw on the knowledge and experiences of all members in our community.

How can you contribute?

Please join us for a series of special events during the 2026 annual meeting in Portland OR. 

SICB has planned the following events:

1.   Jan 3 (2pm to 5pm): leadership workshop “Leapfrogging for change – leading science in 2026” 
2.   Jan 5 (8:45 am to noon): “Leapfrogging for change – doing and communicating science in 2026” special session of talks and round-table discussions (half-day morning session) 
3.   Jan 7 (noon to 1:30 pm): “Leapfrogging for change – standing up with science in 2026” lunch workshop to develop follow-through on issues raised during the previous events on January 3 and 5 – noon to 13:30 pm (food provided)
4.   ongoing event: listening booth during the poster session, staffed by listening leaders

We hope to continue this series of events by offering virtual events after the annual meeting. Look for announcements on ISCB social media and SICB newsletters or reach out to ICB directly by contacting the ICB editor (editor.icb@sicb.org). 

Update from the Editor, Integrative Organismal Biology

Ignacio Moore, Editor-in-Chief.  editor.IOB@sicb.org

The journal has been doing very well so far in 2025. We are on-track to have the largest number of submissions yet. Importantly, we are growing while maintaining a high level of quality with an impact factor hovering around 2.0. We are very pleased with the progress the journal has been making, particularly in this world of online publishing with predatory journals and the like. I have signed on to be the EIC going forward, no more interim tag.

 

 

 

 

One new initiative we have is a special grouping on integrative and organismal biology education science in collaboration with The Society for the Advancement of Biology Education Research (SABER). We hope this grouping of papers will benefit members of both societies as most of our jobs involve both teaching and research and there is a lot of overlap between them.  Jeremy Hsu (Chapman University) will serve as the guest associate editor for these manuscripts and we are excited to welcome him on board.

In summary, the journal is growing and I am excited to lead it forward. We will soon be looking for new associate editors with broad interests in organismal biology. If you would like to nominate someone (including yourself), contact me at editor.IOB@sicb.org.  More generally, please feel free to contact me whenever to share ideas, provide feedback, and help us continue to grow and improve the journal.  

Update from SICB media

Suzanne Miller, SICB media: sicbmedia@sicb.org

This is the first year we have had a concerted effort to expand SICB’s communication via multiple platforms throughout the year. We have established that each division can have a named social media rep and so far, these divisions have them:

DAB’s Lisa Surber – Cunningham,& Brett Hodinka
DCE’s – Samuel Lane
DCB ‘s- Melody Young
DIZ’s – Anna Klompen
DVM’s Emily McParland
DPCB’s- Tony Zhou

If you’d like to be a social media rep for a division not represented here, do reach out to your division chair. The division can of course decide to utilize platforms and or newsletters or blogs that reinforce SICB’s values (stated in the sicb.org values) and their division’s decided upon values.

Along with sharing member’s publications, events, and accomplishments, we’ve been hosting a zoom once a month. Afterwards, they’re hosted on our YouTube.

If you’re a SICB member or IOB or ICB past author who’d like to be a guest on an upcoming zoom, do email sicbmeida@sicb.org with your proposed talk.

We’ve been so thrilled to host Meg Mindlin, Tucker Heptinstall, Drew Harvell, Greg Pask, Kevin Kocot, Sara Asadi Gharabaghi, and upcoming we have Tara Lepore & Brooke Fitzwater.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reach out any time with ideas and or campaigns you’d like to see SICB support via our Instagram(@sicbmedia) , LinkedIn (SICB & journals account ) & @sicb.bsky.social accounts. 

Student Support Committee Report

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

GIAR and FGST applications are open! Applications are due on October 24th. We look forward to your submissions!

Broadening Participation Committee Report

Susan Williams, Chair, chair.BPC@sicb.org 

BPC has been busy this fall with some much needed ‘caretaking work’! You may have noticed some changes related to DEIJ terminology on our SICB websites. Please be aware that this is not a change in support or commitment to DEIJ by the committee or society leadership. That commitment remains very firm. However, these changes enable SICB members, particularly those on BPC, to fully and safely participate in and support BP activities in the current climate. 

In other news, we have also just finished reviewing the 10 SICB Leadership Award applications and hope to make those announcements soon. Reviews of the 169 applications for the Professional Development Awards to support attendance at the 2026 annual meeting are currently underway. These awards are partially 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. Awardees will be contacted by November 17 – please stay tuned! 

The Broadening Participation Committee is gearing up for an exciting annual meeting! We invite everyone to attend our panel discussion on Holding Space: A Panel on Change and Community for LGBTQ+ Academics organized in collaboration with Outgroup, led by Shayle Matsuda, PhD. This year we will not be hosting the BP Meet & Greet on the first day of the meeting. However, we will still have the BP Social and we highly encourage recipients of the SICB Leadership and BP Professional Development Awards to attend to meet the committee and society leadership and be formally recognized for your efforts. We look forward to seeing everyone in Portland! 

Student-Postdoctoral Affairs Committee Report

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

SPDAC is excited to announce our 2nd annual sticker design competition!

We are looking for student and postdoc members to design stickers for the SICB 2026 annual meeting in Portland that will be available at our SPDAC booth (be sure to come visit us!).

• To participate, please enter your submissions here by 11:59 pm EST on November 3, 2025. Attachments should be a PDF or high quality PNG (>600 dpi).
• We encourage ‘SICB’ and/or ‘SPDAC’ to be in designs, but it is not required.
• No AI-generated sticker designs are allowed.
• First place will receive a $100 Visa gift card. Second and third place will each receive a $50 Visa card. Winners will also receive a copy of their winning sticker. Prizes can be mailed or picked up at the SPDAC booth during SICB 2026.
• There is no need to be a SICB member to enter.
• We look forward to seeing your submissions! Designs will be judged by your peers on the SPDAC Committee.

We also have several updates related to the Portland meeting:

• Terms for our Student/Postdoc Reps from DEDB, DIZ and DPCB will be complete after the meeting. If you are a grad student or postdoc member of those divisions, and interested in getting involved with SPDAC, please email Chair Christine Lattin: spdac@sicb.org.
• Due to popular demand, this year’s Charlotte Mangum Student Worker & First-Timer’s Orientation(Saturday, January 3, 5:15-5:45 pm) will be immediately followed by the first ever Student-Postdoctoral Affairs General Member Meeting from 5:45 to 6:30 pm! All student and postdoc members are encouraged to come meet their divisional reps, ask questions, and learn about trainee events at the meeting.
• Given the huge demand last year, we are holding another SPDAC Workshop on “Non-Academic Scientific Jobs” with all-new panelists on Sunday, January 4, 12:15-1:15 p.m. Speakers from industry, non-profit, and government positions will give brief “lightning talks” describing their career paths and then participate in a panel discussion and respond to audience questions. We will provide light snacks on a first-come, first-serve basis. Keep your eye out for the email with registration information!
• New this year: we are organizing a breakfast event for new Assistant Professors who are either about to start or just started to meet, network, and share advice for how to thrive in your new faculty positions. Date and time TBD!
• Stop by the SPDAC Booth during coffee breaks and poster sessions to “Ask a Student/Postdoc Rep” all your burning questions! We will have last year’s SPDAC stickers available as well as new stickers from this year’s competition, and candy!
  • New this year: themed days at the booth, with special guest stars on January 4 to answer questions about Non-Academic Scientific Jobs, and on January 5 to answer questions about working at PUIs (Primarily Undergraduate Institutions)!

Public Affairs Committee Report

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

The PAC wants to highlight two upcoming science communication opportunities at the 2026 annual meeting.

First, a reminder that students who qualify for Charlotte Mangum support can apply for the student journalism programas their job during the annual meeting. Each student in the program will write about a presentation to be featured on the SICB website. Please check out the website for past examples! As a part of our partnership with the Integrative and Comparative Biology (ICB) team, there is also an opportunity to create content for the ICB Blog. Interested students: make sure you check “student journalism” when you submit your Charlotte Mangum application (due October 15th). Then, follow the instructions to submit a writing sample to the PAC by November 15th.

Second, the PAC is also preparing a Multi-Media Science Communication Workshop for the 2026 annual meeting. Stay tuned for more details and keep your eye on the schedule! 

Educational Council Report

Veronica Martinez Acosta, Chair, (chair.EdCouncil@sicb.org)

 The Educational Council has been hard at work preparing for the 2026 annual meeting. We are collaborating with Aramati Casper (Colorado State Univ.), Sarah L. Eddy (Univ. of Minnesota-Twin Cities),  Megan G. Massa (Emory Univ.), Karen Warkentin (Boston Univ.), and Jay Falk (Smithsonian Tropical Research Inst.)  for the Teaching and Learning X (TAL-X) workshop, “From ‘completely erasure’ to ‘there is a place for us here’: Teaching accurate and socially just sex-related biology content.” Be sure to place it on your schedule for the 2026 meeting – Tuesday, Jan. 6th (7-9pm). Please check the online meeting schedule for a sign up link for the workshop as we get closer to the meeting.

Don’t forget to join us for the John A. Moore Lecturer on Wednesday, Jan. 7th (3-4pm). We would like to congratulate Dr. Jennifer Momsen, Professor of Biology at North Dakota State Univ., as our 2026 Moore Lecturer. We look forward to her lecture, “Using Systems and Systems Thinking to Unify Biology Education”. We have also selected this year’s winner of the M. Patricia Morse Award for Excellence and Innovation in Science Education. Please join us in congratulating Dr. Greg Pask (Assoc. Professor of Biology, Middlebury College)! We will present the Morse Award right before the Moore Lecture.  Please join us for our closing plenary on January 7th!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Each year we are excited to welcome to the SICB meeting 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 also showcase ‘Teaching Table Topics’ at the 2026 meeting again.  Stop by and chat and participate with SICB faculty members offering insight on various topics of interest including – Ask a science educator!; Making and Using Games in the Classroom; Making a class your own – to name a few. If you’d like to offer a Teaching Table Topic, please email Chair.EdCouncil@sicb.org

Ed Council is excited to welcome submissions for SICB’s Biology Education, Assessment, & Research Resources library (BEARR). Our mission is to provide a platform for sharing of teaching resources through a searchable, peer-reviewed site. You can access the BEARR submission portal after logging in to the SICB website and selecting ‘BEARR Resources’ under the ‘RESOURCES’ tab at the top of the page.  We are accepting submissions NOW. Reviewed pieces will be shared and searchable on the BEARR webpage, as we add to the collection. If you have questions, please email Chair.EdCouncil@sicb.org and also stop by the Ed Council Booth to ask about submission requirements. 

Lastly, I’d like to take this time to thank the Education Council for all their work. This is the last year of my chairship. It has been a pleasure to serve the Ed Council team and the SICB community at large. I’d like to offer a warm welcome to our incoming Ed Council chair, Dr. Bill Ryerson. Thank you for your continued service Bill and thank you for carrying on the leadership torch! We are always looking for NEW Ed Council members to rotate on in the coming year. If you are interested or would like to nominate someone from your division as an Ed Council member for 2027, please send an email to presidentelect@sicb.org and 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 excited to offer engaging events at SICB 2026 in Portland, Oregon! We also compiled a list of current PUI faculty that are willing to review application materials for PUI positions. You can find the list of faculty and their emails here.

PUI Events at SICB 2026

Please use this Google Form to sign up for PUI events at SICB 2026.

1. PUI booth at poster sessions

• Date/Time: Sunday-Tuesday, January 4-6, 2026, 3:30-5:30pm
• Location: Poster/exhibit hall
• Representatives from the PUI Action Group will be at the booth during the poster sessions to offer a place to connect with fellow faculty at PUIs.
• Current PUI faculty: sign up to sit at the booth for 1 hour (see Google Form above).
• PUI Day at the Student Postdoctoral Affairs Committee (SPDAC) booth

• Date/Time: Monday, January 5, 2026, 3:30-5:30pm
• Location: Poster/exhibit hall
• Representatives from the PUI Action Group will be at the SPDAC booth this day to answer questions from graduate students and postdocs interested in a career at a PUI.

1. PUI Breakfast Social

• Date/Time: Tuesday, January 6, 2026, 7:00-8:30am
• Location: TBD (check the app/conference schedule)
• Free small breakfast and coffee; first come first serve
• Participants meet new people, talk with old friends, and build community.

1. Mentoring village for PUI-curious grad students/post-docs

• Date/Time: Tuesday, January 6, 2026, 10:00-11:00am
• Location: Meet in front of the PUI booth in the poster hall
• Graduate students, post-docs, and other early professionals who are interested in PUI careers will meet with a group of current PUI faculty mentors. Mentoring villages serve to provide multiple mentors/perspectives about how to apply for PUI jobs, gain teaching experience, etc.
• You can sign up as a mentor or mentee (see Google Form above).

1. Mentoring village for untenured PUI faculty

• Date/Time: Tuesday, January 6, 2026, 2:30-3:30pm
• Location: Meet in front of the PUI booth in the poster hall
• Untenured PUI faculty will meet with a group of current tenured PUI faculty mentors during a coffee break at the conference. Mentoring villages serve to provide multiple mentors/perspectives about the tenure process, etc.
• You can sign up as a mentor or mentee (see Google Form above).

If you’re interested in any of our efforts, follow us on our Bluesky account @sicb-pui.bsky.social and sign up to get on our mailing list. And keep an eye out for more exciting programs from your PUI Action Group at SICB 2026!