Guidelines

For the alternate years with one global meeting, SMBE funds several SMBE SATELLITE, INTERDISCIPLINARY AND REGIONAL MEETINGS. These meetings are organized and held independently of the SMBE annual meeting.

SMBE is now calling for proposals for meetings and actions to be held between January 1, 2027, and December 31, 2027. Funds will be awarded on a competitive basis to members of the molecular evolution research community to run meetings on an important, focused, and timely topic of their choice. The number of awards will depend on the quality of proposals, total cost and the budget available.

• A list of upcoming and previous SATELLITE/INTERDISCIPLINARY/REGIONAL SMBE meetings can be found here.
• Please also consult our archive for further information on previous Satellite, Regional and Interdisciplinary meetings.
• Participants of Satellite/Interdisciplinary/Regional meetings are eligible for SMBE Caregiver Award.

The deadline for submission of proposals is August 31, 2026. Decisions will be communicated to the applicants by the end of September 2026.

GUIDELINES

FINANCIAL SUPPORT AND TOPICS

Satellite meetings:

• SMBE will provide financial support for up to 80% of the costs, up to a maximum of $47,000 USD per meeting (most meetings are funded at $20,000-$30,000 each). This amount should cover the cost of at least 2 plenary lectures per meeting (hotel and travel).
• Timely topics not well represented in symposia of SMBE annual meetings will be favored over those that are already well represented at the annual meetings or previous SMBE satellite meetings.

Regional and Interdisciplinary meetings:

• SMBE will provide financial support for up to 100% of the costs for the, up to a maximum of $32,000 USD per meeting outside US/Canada, Europe and Japan and up to $10,000 USD for meetings in US/Canada, Europe, or Japan. This amount should cover the cost of at least 2 plenary lectures per meeting (hotel and travel).
• Meetings/symposia/lectures will be selected based on the scientific importance, timeliness and anticipated impact on the fields of molecular biology, genome biology, and evolution.
• Proposals for meetings to be organized in geographical areas that have been traditionally under-represented in SMBE meetings (global or satellite) are especially encouraged.

Eligibility:

• At least one of the organizers must be a member of SMBE. Current SMBE Council members, or members who have rotated-off Council in the last calendar year, are not eligible to serve as meeting organizers or co-organizers.

Expectations:

• A detailed projected budget, including the expected number of participants, travel/food/lodging costs, and registration fees must be submitted with the application. Please note that SMBE funds cannot be used for indirect costs or overhead costs.
• Proposals should strive to be inclusive and outline strategies for hybrid/virtual meetings. All talks are expected to be made available to the SMBE community as recordings.
• Events will be named “SMBE Satellite meeting on XYZ”, or “SMBE Interdisciplinary meeting/symposium/lecture” or “SMBE Regional meeting in XYZ(Geographic Location)”. Meeting organizers should host a website for the meeting that highlights the main theme as well as the program, including the speaker list. This website should stay active for at least 3 years after the meeting date. Symposium and lecture organizers should provide a link to be advertised on the SMBE webpage. The sponsorship of the SMBE must be mentioned in all pre-meeting publicity and in the meeting program.
• Meetings must be standalone events, should not form a symposium or other part of a larger meeting and should not immediately follow or precede any other meeting at a given location.
• We expect the proposals to promote diversity and gender equity in the organizing committee and in the selection of speakers and participants.
• The date of the meeting cannot overlap with the main international SMBE meeting.
• In the unlikely event that the meeting cannot be held due to reasons attributable to the organizers, the organizers would be required to return the funding and cover all costs related to cancellation. The event cannot be postponed to the following year and would need to be reapplied for.

Evaluation of proposals:

• Proposals will be received and reviewed by two SMBE Council Members that will make a recommendation to SMBE Council, whose decision is final. The SMBE Council may decide not to support any meetings in any particular year. The selection committee may contact the proposers for clarifications during the reviewing process and a timely response will be required. A proposal that was unsuccessful can be re-submitted upon consultation with the selection committee (contacts provided below).

Post-meeting expectations:

• Organizers will be required to submit a brief scientific report on their workshop/symposium/meeting for publication on the SMBE website or, alternatively, in one of the SMBE journals after consultation with the editorial board. A concise financial report outlining the use of funds is also expected.
• Please note that 90% of the funds will be transferred to the organizers at the point of acceptance of the proposal (or as soon as needed thereafter), whereas the remaining 10% will be made available upon receiving the scientific and financial reports.
• Unused funds (e.g. for plenary speaker travel allowance) should be transferred back to SMBE within 3 months of the event.

PROPOSAL INSTRUCTIONS

Satellite meeting/workshop proposals should be sent by email to the SMBE Business Office (smbe@am.kwglobal.com) and will be considered by the selection committee comprising council members Qiaomei Fu (fuqiaomei@ivpp.ac.cn) and Aya Takahashi (ayat@tmu.ac.jp).

Please complete and return this form (click to download file) and include the information below.

1. Provide the name(s), gender, career stage, and full contact information for all organizer(s) and the name of the institution(s) involved. Universities/organizations providing additional financial support, if involved, should also be listed. If additional funding is being simultaneously applied for, please state the status of that request as well. Please specify organizers who are SMBE members.
2. Meeting summary (4 single-spaced pages max).Describe the scientific rationale for your proposed meeting. In doing so, be sure to clearly state (1) the importance and timeliness of the topic; (2) the anticipated short-term and long-term impacts of your meeting on the fields of molecular biology, genome biology, and evolution;  (3) for satellite meetings only: why a small meeting format is preferable to a symposium at the SMBE annual meeting; (4) for interdisciplinary actions only: the relevance of mixing communities (for joint meetings, symposia and plenary lectures at non-evolution meetings); (5) for regional meetings outside the US/Canada, Europe, and Japan only: the relevance of promoting actions in specific regions; (6) for small regional meetings in the US/Canada, Europe, and Japan only: the extent and nature of student/postdoctoral fellow involvement.
3. Structure of the meeting. (1)the proposed structure of your meeting (e.g., lectures only, lectures + hands-on training sessions, contributed talks, poster sessions, etc.); (2) an indicative list of proposed invited speakers including their gender, geographical origin and career stage;
4. Financial summary. Please summarize your financial request, including estimated total budget, registration costs (if any), travel support for speakers / trainees, costs of the venue (if any), and details of non-SMBE funds to be used.