Dear SMBE Members:

We are delighted to announce that the Society for Molecular Biology & Evolution is now accepting proposals for symposium topics for the 2027 Annual Meeting, taking place in Québec City, Canada, June 20-24, 2027.

Each symposium will be limited to two organizers and one invited speaker.

Invited speakers will have 20 minutes for their presentation in person, followed by 5 minutes for questions.

Individuals can only be listed as an organizer for one symposium proposal, although organizers can be listed as an invited speaker on another proposal.

The proposal should include confirmation that the invited speaker has agreed to participate if the proposal is selected.

Symposium proposals should include the following:

• Names of the two organizers and of the proposed invited speaker.
• Title
• Keywords
• Description of the symposium (250 words max.) that will be made public if selected.
• Description of how the proposal brings forward the SMBE’s objective of equity and diversity, as well as any additional information for the committee to make an informed review (250 words max).

For each accepted symposium, the meeting will provide financial support up to 2,000 USD to cover travel and accommodation for the invited speaker. The conference registration fees will also be waived for the invited speaker. Organizers based in countries listed as low- and middle-income economies (https://wellcome.org/research-funding/guidance/prepare-to-apply/low-and-middle-income-countries) will have their registration fees covered if their proposal is selected. Symposium organizers whose proposals are selected (along with their invited speakers), and who require a visa to enter Canada, will be provided with an official invitation letter upon request once the results are announced in October.

The final decision on the selection of symposia will be made by the Local Organizing Committee (LOC). Criteria include quality of the proposal, breadth of interest to SMBE membership, and representation of the diversity of SMBE membership among speakers.

If a symposium proposal is selected for SMBE 2027, the symposium organizers will be responsible for evaluating all abstracts submitted to the symposium and accepting or rejecting them for poster or oral presentations for SMBE 2027. Abstract evaluation by symposium organizers will take place between February 2 and February 20, 2027. Organizers submitting a proposal must commit to following the evaluation schedule. Note that no one will be allowed to give more than one scientific research presentation (talk or poster) at SMBE 2027, a rule that will be enforced by the LOC. Communications about outreach, equity and diversity, career advice, teaching molecular biology and evolution, etc. are excluded from that rule and can be presented in addition to a research talk. Abstracts submitted to a symposium but not selected for a talk could be selected to present in an open symposium by the LOC or invited to present a poster, should they have selected poster presentation as an option.

Please submit a proposal for a symposium using the following link: https://event.fourwaves.com/smbe2027/submission

Key dates

• Symposium proposals open: August 20th, 2026
• Symposium proposals close: September 20th, 2026
• Results announced to organizers: October 21st, 2026
• Symposia announced publicly: November 2nd, 2026
• Organizers select abstracts: February 2nd, 2027, to February 20th, 2027
  

Looking forward to reading about your exciting topics,
The Local Organizing Committee
SMBE 2027