Information for Authors

This webpage consists of information for authors of all accepted papers and posters at ACM-BCB 2020 and associated workshops.

All accepted conference papers, highlight abstracts, workshop papers, and poster abstracts are also scheduled to appear in ACM Digital Library as part of ACM-BCB 2020 proceedings. The authors of the accepted papers and posters are required to follow the following instructions.

1. Camera-ready instructions:

   All camera-ready submissions should conform to the ACM Conference Proceedings template (http://www.acm.org/publications/proceedings-template) on 8.5 x 11 inch paper format.

   Main conference papers: The camera-ready version should be submitted on Easychair by July 29, 2020. The camera-ready version should also contain the rights and permission information which is provided upon completing the ACM copyright form (see (ii) below). Authors are requested to upload the camera ready version as an update to the original submission on Easychair. Regular submissions are limited to 10 pages and short papers are limited to 6 pages. Additional pages (up to 2 pages) can be purchased at registration time for an added cost of 100 USD per page.

   Workshop papers: The camera-ready version should be submitted by August 5, 2020. The camera-ready version should also contain the rights and permission information which is provided upon completing the ACM copyright form (see (ii) below). Authors are requested to follow instructions from the respective workshop organizers on where to submit the camera ready version (i.e., by email or Easychair). Regular submissions are limited to 10 pages and short papers are limited to 6 pages. Additional pages (up to 2 pages) can be purchased at registration time for an added cost of 100 USD per page.

   Posters: The camera-ready version of the 1-page abstract should be submitted by August 5, 2020. The version should also contain the rights and permission information which is provided upon completing the ACM copyright form (see (ii) below). Authors are requested to follow instructions from the respective poster chairs on where to submit the camera ready version (i.e., by email or Easychair).

   Highlight papers: The camera-ready version of the 1-page abstract should be submitted by August 5, 2020. The version should also contain the rights and permission information which is provided upon completing the ACM copyright form (see (ii) below). Authors are requested to follow instructions from the Highlight chairs on where to submit your camera ready version.

2. ACM Copyright form: All accepted papers will need to fill in an ACM copyright form. Instructions will be sent via email in a separate note. Upon completion of this form, you will receive the rights and permission information (including the paper citation and DOI information) that should be added to your camera-ready version.
3. Registration requirement: Each accepted conference paper, highlight paper, workshop paper, or poster must be accompanied by a full conference registration at one of the following author registration rates:

   Author: ACM/SIGBio member:		250 USD
   Author: Non-ACM/SIGBio member:		300 USD

   Each registration covers the cost for the entire conference including main conference paper sessions, plenary sessions, workshops, tutorials, and posters. Note that one registration can cover up to two submissions. Additional submissions can be registered at a fixed rate of 100 USD per submission. As an example, if an author is an ACM/SIGBio member with 5 accepted posters, then the associated cost of registration will be 550 USD in total ($250 for the first two posters + $300 for the remaining three posters).

   Registrations are due by July 29, 2020 for conference papers and August 5, 2020 for all other papers and abstracts. Authors need to supply the confirmation code at the time of submitting their camera-ready version. Please visit the conference registration webpage for more details.

4. Video recording for the talk:

   Conference papers, Highlight talks, and Workshop papers: An electronic video recording for the paper talk must be submitted by the authors by August 21, 2020. The talk video is expected to be approximately 20 minutes (for regular papers) and 12 minutes (for short papers). Precise instructions to upload will be emailed to all the authors by the virtual platform support team. All submitted recordings will undergo a quality review prior to becoming part of the virtual program.

   Posters: Each poster will be accompanied with a submission of a 36in x 48in (portrait or landscape) poster in PDF format. Additionally, authors have the option of uploading the following two videos: (i) a poster presentation video no longer than 5 minutes in which authors present their poster. This video will be available together with the poster from the conference virtual platform. (ii) Lightning presentation (no longer than 2 minutes) of the poster where authors briefly advertise their poster. This video will be displayed during a dedicated poster session in the main conference program to encourage interaction of the audience with posters’ authors. Even though optional, authors are highly recommended to upload one or both presentations to be part of the virtual program. Precise instructions to upload will be emailed to all the authors by the virtual platform support team. All submitted recordings will undergo a quality review prior to becoming part of the virtual program.
   Presentation length:

   1. Main conference and workshop papers:
      1. Regular papers – 20 mins
      2. Short papers – 12 mins
   2. Highlight papers – 20 mins
   3. Posters:
      1. Poster presentation – 5 mins
      2. Lightning presentation – 2 mins (for the live poster session at the conference)

5. Paper presentation and Q&A in virtual mode: Due to COVID-19, the conference and all its associated events will be held virtually this year. During the conference dates (September 21-24), all registered attendees will have full access to the virtual program through our virtual platform. Each paper will have a dedicated space in the virtual platform with functions to view title, abstract, and a chat function for the general audience to interact with the authors.
   Session format:
   • Each talk session will be a sequence of paper talks followed by a combined live Q&A session.
   • The recorded presentations of each paper will be played during the session at its allotted time.
   • After all the presentations of a session are completed, there will be a ~15 min live Q&A session at the end of each session, during which all the presenters are expected to be present virtually to answer any questions from the audience. The questions will be posed by the session chair who will act as the moderator between the audience and the presenters. Audience will be allowed to pose their questions anytime live during the session using the chat function.
   Posters: Posters in PDF format, together with video (if provided) will be available to all the attendees via the virtual conference platform. Additionally, the attendees will be able to interact with the authors via Q&A chat window. Poster presentations will also be made available to all the attendees via the virtual platform and the attendees will be able to interact with the authors.
   
   Important dates: (all times 11:59pm Anywhere on Earth)
   Main conference authors:

   Author registration date:		July 29, 2020
   Camera-ready papers and ACM copyright due:		July 29, 2020

   
   All other authors (workshops, highlights, posters):

   Author registration date:		August 5, 2020
   Camera-ready papers and ACM copyright due:		August 5, 2020

   Deadline for uploading electronic talk video recording:

   August 21, 2020