Since 2008, the SIB Bioinformatics Awards acknowledge the best work by early career bioinformaticians and ground-breaking resources every other year. The awards are open to researchers from all over the world. There is something for everyone, with three categories to choose from: PhD Paper Award, Early Career Award and Innovative Resource Award. Find out about the top reasons to enter and the selection criteria. Laureates are announced during the [BC]2 conference. Sign up to receive updates on how to take part in the next edition in 2025! 

Categories

The SIB Bioinformatics Awards honour excellence in three categories: 

PhD Paper

The PhD Paper Award recognizes an outstanding article published by a PhD student as lead author in bioinformatics and/or computational biology, on a special theme for each edition. Works considered include original methodological contributions, as well as innovative in silico analysis of biological sequences, structures, or processes. 

2023 theme: “Machine learning algorithms for advancing spatial biology”.  

Discover the past laureates:

2023 Previous editions

Early Career Award

The Early Career Award recognizes international early career scientists who demonstrate excellence through one or several projects and/or papers in bioinformatics and/or computational biology. This encompasses original methodological contributions, as well as innovative in silico analysis of biological sequences, structures or processes.

Discover the past laureates:

2023 Previous editions

Innovative Resource Award

The Innovative Resource Award recognizes a bioinformatics resource (database, infrastructure, code-base, analysis framework, visualisation tool, etc.) that is breaking new conceptual and/or technical ground. The award is open to any new bioinformatics resource or any major new release of a resource.

Discover the past laureates:

2023 Previous editions

Top reasons to enter

  • Cash prize: winners of the SIB Bioinformatics Awards receive a cash prize ranging from 5,000 to 10,000 CHF.
  • Opportunity to attend the [BC]2 Basel Computational Biology Conference during which the awards ceremony takes place: a great networking and career development opportunity at one of the major bioinformatics events in Europe. Watch the video to discover the event and the past laureates!
  • Present a plenary talk during the Awards Ceremony at [BC]2 which will be recorded and widely promoted via SIB’s social media channels. Watch the talk of one of the last year’s laureates, Cédric Notredame.

Next edition

The next SIB Awards will take place in 2025. Stay tuned for the call for entries, which will open in late 2024. Follow the latest news and announcements related to the SIB Awards on our website and on our social media (#SIBawards). You can also sign up here to receive notifications about the opening.

Submission guidelines will be provided at that time.

Selection process and excellence criteria

The awards are assigned by an international jury, revised by the SIB Award Committee and announced during the biennial [BC]2 Basel Computational Biology Conference.

What you need to know to apply 
SIB fosters excellence in bioinformatics and computational biology. This encompasses multiple dimensions, including academic rigour, breakthrough character, sustainability, usability (for software and resources) and overall contribution to the field of bioinformatics/computational biology. 

The SIB Award jurors abide by the DORA principles in not using journal-based metrics, such as Journal Impact Factors, as a surrogate measure of the quality of individual research articles. They also strive to overcome unconscious biases, such as those associated with gender, minorities, affiliation or subfields, to ensure a fair and diverse representation of excellence. 

Collaborative and interdisciplinary work can also qualify provided the bioinformatics and/or computational biology aspects meet the excellence criteria outlined above. 

Learn more about the qualifications and criteria for each award below.

Download the Terms and Conditions 

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