Welcome Address
Invitation to Prague
On behalf of the International Society for Clinical Biostatistics (ISCB, “Society”), the Local Organising Committee and the Scientific Programme Committee, it is our pleasure and privilege to cordially invite you to attend the 30th Annual Conference of the ISCB (“Conference”), to be held in Prague, Czech Republic, on August 23rd – 27th, 2009. The Conference is jointly organised by the Czech National Group of the ISCB, Institute of Computer Science of the Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic and European Centre for Medical Informatics, Statistics and Epidemiology, with much support from the conference organising agency Guarant International Ltd., who joined us to help transform this great occasion to a memorable event in the Society's history. In 2009 the Society will reach a significant milestone on its mission to becoming a leading international scientific forum for exchange of ideas among biostatisticians, epidemiologists, clinical pharmacologists and medical researchers at large, interested in applying statistical methodology in medicine, particularly in the field of clinical trials.
The city of Prague, with its rich cultural and academic tradition, makes an attractive choice and great location for this anniversary event. The scientific programme, featuring versatile combination of state-of-the-art short courses, two Mini-Symposia, invited sessions presented by world renowned speakers, and an exciting contributed programme, will be supplemented by an appealing social programme, which we hope you will also find attractive.
The Conference will take place in the premises of the University of Economics in Prague, conveniently located within reach of the historic city centre. The choice of this venue corresponds well with one of the featured invited topics for the Conference, the Health Economics Evaluation. Statistical Methods in HIV/AIDS Research will represent another hot invited topic for the anniversary event. Additional highlights of the Conference will be the Mini-Symposium on Biomedical Informatics, paralleled with Mini-Symposium on Statistics in Vaccines Research. These topics will nicely complement other more traditional conference themes. Four appealing pre-conference courses will help boost your appetite for the anniversary event. It is our hope that the scientific content of the Conference will match your justifiably high expectations.
The social programme will also try to bring you a few treats. You will have a chance to explore Prague's many attractive historic sites or a charm of Bohemian medieval castles located in Prague’s vicinity. You can easily make trips of your own using Prague's highly efficient public transportation system.
We all look very much forward to welcoming you in August 2009 in the city of Prague at the occasion of the 30th Annual Conference of the ISCB.
Zdeněk Valenta Geert Molenberghs
Chair, Local Organising Commitee Chair, Scientific Programme Committee