SMB Sections

Aims and Objectives

SMB Sections are regional, national, or cross-national subdivisions of SMB whose goal is to serve members and promote the Society’s mission of advancing scientific excellence within their geographical region. In its role as a regional SMB hub, the primary aims of a section is to bring SMB activities closer to its members, facilitate collaboration, and the improve accessibility to the scientific community at the interface between mathematical and life sciences.

In particular, SMB Sections are created in order to

• Increase interconnectedness between SMB members in regional networks.
• Facilitate connections between local industries and institutions interested in mathematical biology.
• Increase members’ access to SMB activities and support by disseminating information about opportunities and acting as a platform for organizing local meetings and lectures.
• Increase student, trainee, and early career researcher engagement by providing geographically convenient, inexpensive, and accessible activities.

Building community among students, especially those who may be intellectually isolated, would be particularly valued. To this end, sections might facilitate the creation of student chapters. Other section (or student chapter) activities might include organizing social events, mentoring programs, undergraduate conferences, professional development activities, and discussion groups on scientific advances or professional development.

Support from the Society

To support the mission of each section, SMB will

• Host section webpages at smb.org
• Facilitate communication with section membership
• Provide administrative support for meeting organization
• Provide direct financial support. To obtain funding, section leadership must submit a planned budget and budget justification (a template will be provided), including travel and meeting funds, for review and approval at the SMB Annual Meeting. The amount of funding available to sections will be determined by the SMB Board each year.

Section Membership

Each member of an SMB Section must be a member of SMB and have an affiliation or address within the section’s geographic boundary.

Scope

The geographic scope of an SMB Section may be regional (part of a single country), national (one country), or cross-national (multiple countries or regions spanning national borders), as deemed best-suited to the particular circumstances.