ISSOL is the International Society for the Study of the Origin of Life and Astrobiology Society. As of 2009, the society has over 500 members representing over 20 countries in disciplines as varied as astronomy and molecular biology. The society’s supporting journal, Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres (OLEB), has been publishing work in the field since 1968 and is the longest established and most authoritative journal for Astrobiology and origins of life research. Jack W. Szostak and Ada Yonath, were recipients of 2009 Nobel Prizes in Physiology or Medicine and Chemistry, respectively. The leadership of the organization strives to be inclusive of ethnicity and gender, having elected the first woman president for 2008–2011.
ISSOL Awards 2011
During the past meeting Origins 2011, held in Montpellier (France), several of our colleagues were distinguished with the ISSOL Awards.
Urey Medal
Jack W. Szostak (Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, USA)
Miller Research Award
Matthew Powner (Massachusetts General Hospital, Harvard Medical School, USA)
White Research Award
Irene Chen (FAS Center for Systems Biology, Harvard University USA)
Miller Fellow
Chris Dupont (J. Craig Venter Institute, USA)
ISSOL Fellows
Gustaf Arrhenius (Scripps Institution of Oceanography, USA)
J. Peter Gogarten (University of Connecticut, USA)
Ramanarayanan (“Ram”) Krishnamurthy (The Scripps Research Institute, USA)
Best Poster Awards
Chenyu Wei (NASA Ames Research Center, United States of America), Cécile Feuillie (Laboratoire de Géologie de Lyon: Terre, Planètes, Environnement, ENS de Lyon, France), Trinity Hamilton (Astrobiology Biogeocatalysis Research Center, Montana State University, USA), Tyler D. Robinson (Astronomy Department, University of Washington, USA; University of Washington Astrobiology Program; NASA Astrobiology Institute), Elio Mattia (Centre for Systems Chemistry, Stratingh Institute, University of Groningen, The Netherlands), Katie Marriott (University of Leeds, United Kingdom), Patrick J. Gasda (University of Hawaii, USA), Tsubasa Otake (Tohoku University, Japan), Delphine Nna Mvondo (Centro de Astrobiologia, CSIC-INTA, Spain), Irma Lozada-Chavez (Interdisciplinary Center for Bioinformatics and Department of Computer Science, University of Leipzig, Germany), Ari Brozinski (Department of Geology and Minerology, Åbo Akademi, Finland).
OLEB Executive Editors
The OLEB Vol. 41, issue 5, introduces a modified editorial structure. Two of our Editorial Board members, H.J. Cleaves and J. Peter Gogarten, will be assuming Executive Editor positions. Since its inception, Origins of Life has been a one-man operation, with, successively, Cyril Ponnamperuma, Jim Ferris, and myself as Editors. In today’s world of increasing specialization, it is becoming increasingly difficult for one editor to be sufficiently familiar with the entire breath of the journal’s coverage, or to easily identify and contact appropriate reviewers for every manuscript which is submitted. The new Executive Editors will act independently to stimulate, evaluate, and reach final decisions on new submissions within their areas of expertize. Jim Cleaves has a background in prebiotic chemistry, geochemistry and astrobiology. He is associated with the Geophysical Laboratory of the Carnegie Institution of Science, in Washington, D.C. Peter Gogarten is a specialist in Molecular and Early Biological Evolution, and is a Distinguished Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cell Biology at the University of Connecticut, Storrs, CT. I am delighted that I will able to rely on their increased involvement in OLEB in the future.
Alan W. Schwartz, Editor-in-Chief, Origins of Life and Evolution of Biospheres.
Gordon Research Conference on Origin of Life 2012
The 2012 Gordon Research Conference on Origin of Life will take place at the Hotel Galvez in Galveston, TX from January 8-13, 2012. We encourage young scientists, including graduate students and postdoctoral fellows, to attend. Applications for this meeting must be submitted by December 11, 2011. Please apply early, as we expect the meeting to become oversubscribed (full) before this deadline. More information, including a full conference program, can be found on the conference website.
Immediately preceding the GRC, on January 7-8, 2011, a Gordon Research Seminar (GRS) will be held for young investigators. The GRS is a unique forum for graduate students, post-docs, and other scientists with comparable levels of experience and education to present and exchange new data and cutting edge ideas.
The Chairs will select speakers from abstracts submitted by October 15, 2011. Those applicants who are not chosen for talks and those who apply after the deadline to be considered for an oral presentation will be expected to present a poster. In order to participate, you must submit an application by December 10, 2011.
Funding is available to allow partial travel and registration support for both the GRC and the GRS for graduate students and postdoctoral scientists who participate as presenters in the Gordon Research Seminar. For more information, please visit the website.
