Biofilms 2003
November 1 - 7, 2003
Victoria, British Columbia

Contents of This Page:

Call for Abstracts
Registration
Student Travel Grants
Location
Travel Information

Links to Other Pages:

Scientific Program

General Information

Conference Description

The third in ASM’s series of conferences on the topic, Biofilms 2003 will bring together the global community of scientists and engineers working in this field.   Session topics will include biofilm structure-function and physiology, the biofilm phenotype, developmental patterns in biofilms, cross kingdom interactions, biofilms in natural and industrial systems, and pathogenesis.  Evening parallel sessions will allow focused interactive discussion of specialized topics.  Workshops mid-meeting will allow hands-on demonstrations of methods for sampling and quantitation of biofilm bacteria and for the imaging of biofilms using confocal scanning laser microscopy and specific chemical and immune probes.  

Location

Located on the southern tip of Vancouver Island, Victoria is a charming city steeped in the timeless traditions of its British heritage.  Victoria is well connected, with dozens of ferry sailings a day through some of the most scenic waters in the world.  You can drive aboard with your vehicle, walk on, or “sail by bus” from the British Columbia mainland with BC Ferries.  Or, depart from Seattle and other Washington State points on a variety of other ferry services.  Victoria is also served by daily commercial airline flights to Victoria International Airport, and by scheduled float plane and helicopter service to the downtown area, only a few minutes from the Victoria Conference Center and the Fairmont Empress, headquarters hotel for the conference.

Accommodations:

The Fairmont Empress has been designated as the headquarters hotel for Biofilms 2003.  Connected to the Victoria Conference Center, it is the most convenient hotel for conference guests.   The Empress is a world-class hotel luxury hotel, painstakingly restored to possess its original elegance and grandeur, but updated with all modern amenities that business travelers would expect.  ASM has negotiated a special discounted conference rate of $100 US per night per room, plus tax, for single or double occupancy.   To reserve your room at the Empress, please call the reservations department at (250) 384-8111, or the Fairmont Global reservations center at 1-800-441-1414.  In order to receive the conference rate, please mention that you are attending the ASM Conference, Biofilms 2003.  The deadline for reservations at the Empress is September 30, 2003.  Please reserve early since only a limited number of rooms are available at the Empress for conference guests.

Information on alternate nearby hotels will be posted on this website at a nearer date to the conference.

Call for Abstracts

You are invited to submit an abstract for peer review for the conference.  The organizing committee plans to select some oral presentations to complement the general sessions from the submitted abstracts that are received by May 1, 2003.  If you would like for your abstract to be considered for an oral presentation during one of the general sessions, you must submit your abstract by May 1, 2003.  If it is not selected for an oral presentation, it will be reviewed for a poster presentation after the poster abstract deadline, which is July 31, 2003.

A number of abstracts will be selected for oral presentation, with the remainder scheduled in poster sessions if accepted. During the submission process, authors are required to select whether the abstract should be considered for oral and poster sessions, or should be considered for only poster sessions. Abstracts submitted by the May 1 deadline which are not selected for oral sessions will be automatically considered for scheduling in a poster session after the final July 30 deadline. Abstracts selected for oral sessions will not be scheduled as posters.

The criteria for selection as an oral presentation are: 1) innovation 2) clear formulation of hypotheses, clear statement of methods and results, clear interpretation of results 3) significance of results and conclusions to the overall biofilm community.

Deadlines for abstract submission:

Oral session consideration: May 1, 2003
Poster session consideration: July 31, 2003

Please use the link below for online abstract submission.

Online Abstract Submission

For further information, please consult the instructions for submitting online.

Instructions for Online Abstract Submission

Student Travel Grants

ASM has provided funds for the awarding of up to 50 travel grants of $500 each to predoctoral students and new postdocs. 

To qualify, applicants must:

a. be a member of ASM (student membership in ASM is only $15); 
b. be a presenter on an accepted abstract; and 
c. must be at the predoctoral level or within one year of earning a doctoral degree. 

Applicants submitting an abstract via the ASM web site should check the box on the screen when filling out the electronic submission form where indicated. In addition, applicants should mail to ASM proof of predoctoral or qualifying postdoctoral status, either in the form of a copy of the validated student identification card, or a letter on departmental letterhead from their departmental chair which verifies their student status.

Registration Information

Online registration will be available closer to the meeting.  Check back for more information!

Travel Information

The following special rates are available for ASM Conferences:

American Airlines

A 7% discount off the lowest applicable fare will be offered when you or your travel agent call American’s toll-free number, 1-800-433-1790 and refer to Star File number 13N3AA.  A 10% discount off unrestricted mid-week coach fares is available when purchased seven days in advance.  An additional bonus may apply if ticket is booked 60 days or more in advance of travel.