Ton van den Bogert is currently Associate Staff in the Lerner Research Institute of the Cleveland Clinic and Associate Professor in the School of Engineering and School of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University, in Cleveland, Ohio. He obtained his PhD degree from the University of Utrecht (Netherlands) in 1989 and was a faculty member at the University of Calgary (Canada) before moving to the USA in 1998.

In 1996 Ton started working with Motion Analysis Corp. on new algorithms to solve skeleton movement from marker trajectories. This technology was used in projects such as King Kong and Lord of the Rings to generate realistic movements for animated characters. This work was recognized by a Technical Achievement Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences in 2005.

His research program focuses on innovative methods in computational biomechanics for analysis and simulation of human and animal movement, with recent applications in sports injury prevention, optimal control of movement, and design of neural and mechanical prostheses. In 1988 he co-founded the Biomch-L discussion forum and the ISB Technical Group on Computer Simulation. He has served the ISB as executive council member (1995-2001)  and co-chaired the ISB Congress in Cleveland in 2005. Ton has authored more than 80 journal articles, which have been cited 1800 times in total. He and his students have received conference awards from the ISB, ASB, AOSSM, and ORS.

He says: "I joined the ISB in 1987 as a graduate student because it was tremendously exciting to become part of this international and interdisciplinary community. My primary goal in serving the ISB is to help create optimal conditions for the community to thrive, through conferences, technical groups, student programs, and open information exchange. This must be supported by a modern internet-based infrastructure that encourages communication and active participation by members."

Joseph Hamill is a Professor in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Massachusetts and has been the director of the Biomechanics Laboratory for the past 23 years. Previously, he has served as Chair of the department for 11 years and as Associate Dean of the School of Public Health and Health Sciences for three years. He has appointments as an Honorary Professor at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland and as a Distinguished Research Professor at Republic Polytechnic in Singapore. Dr. Hamill received a B.A. from York University, Toronto, a B.S. from Concordia University, Montreal, and both an M.S. and Ph.D. in biomechanics from the University of Oregon.

His research interests are focused on lower extremity mechanics during normal and pathological locomotion with a particular emphasis on mechanisms of overuse injuries. He has authored or co-authored over 100 research papers, over 160 research proceedings, several book chapters and three books. He has also presented over 150 papers at both national and international conferences. Dr. Hamill is a member of numerous organizations including the American, Canadian, and International Societies of Biomechanics and the American College of Sports Medicine. He is a Fellow of ACSM, of the Research Consortium, of the Canadian Society of Biomechanics, of the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports and of the Academy of Kinesiology. He is a member of several editorial boards of professional journals and reviews for all major profes-sional biomechanics journals. He has been an invited speaker in many countries around the world. During his academic career, Dr. Hamill has mentored more than 20 doctoral students and 30 MS students. He has served on the Executive Boards of the New England Chapter of the American College of Sports Medicine, the International Society of Biomechanics, the Footwear Biomechanics Group, the International Society of Biomechanics in Sports and the Canadian Society of Biomechanics.

He says: "I have been an active ISB member since 1981. I was first elected to the ISB Board of the International Society of Biomechanics in 2003 and have served on the Board for three terms (six years). During that time, I have been responsible for the Informatics portfolio. A major responsibility of this portfolio is to mange the ISB web site. The new web site has been up and running since 2005 and we continually work to update the site. If elected, my main goal would be to continue the work of ISB Past-President Brian Davis and current President Walter Herzog in expanding the membership of ISB. Our current membership is significantly lacking in researchers from Africa, South America and Southeast Asia. To be a truly international organization, we must step up our recruiting activities in these areas. We must also foster international research collaborations between those established ISB members and those in developing countries. The International Society of Biomechanics should play a leading role in shaping the scientific landscape of the future. As President-Elect and President of the Society, I want to direct and lead the ISB into all areas of biomechanics research. Specifically, I want to facilitate closer relationships with the other academic communities who might play crucial roles in our future scientific activities. To this end, I would attempt to create expanded opportunities for students and researchers via our grant programs and also provide support for our existing areas of research strengths."

Shinji Sakurai completed the Bachelor of Physical Education and Master of Science (Biomechanics) degrees at the University of Tokyo (1974 – 1981), and earned his PhD from the University of Tokyo in 1994 (mentor: Professor Mitsumasa Miyashita). He initially was appointed to Nagoya University (1981 – 2001) before moving to the School of Health and Sport Sciences at Chukyo University as a Professor of Biomechanics.

He has extensive international experience, having lectured at International Conferences (ISB and ISBS) and has spent several years at the University of Western Australia as a visiting scholar. His research interests are primarily in sport biomechanics with foci on the biomechanics of throwing, hitting, and running. He is also interested in the effects of training, growth, and aging on human movement.

He is currently a chief editor of the Japanese Journal of Biomechanics in Sports and Exercise and serves on the editorial review board on Clinical Biomechanics. He is extremely interested in serving on the Executive council of the ISB.

Darren Stefanyshyn received his PhD in 1996 from the University of Calgary and is currently an Associate Professor at the Human Performance Laboratory at the University of Calgary. His research focus is in the area of sport and locomotion biomechanics with a special interest in sport equipment such as footwear. He has been an ISB member since 1996. Darren has been a regular participant at ISB conferences, attending his first ISB meeting in 1993 in Paris as a student and serving as Secretary General of the organizing committee of the 1999 ISB conference in Calgary.

He has been intimately involved in the Footwear Biomechanics Technical Group of the ISB, as Chair of the 1999 Footwear Symposium in Canmore, serving as an Executive Board Member for four years and he is currently the Chairperson of the group.

Tzyy-Yuang Shiang received his PhD degree from Pennsylvania State University in Mechanical Engineering (majoring in Biomechanics) in 1993. His research interests are mainly dedicated to various aspects of Sports biomechanics, Biomedical engineering and Sports equipment design. He has been a research scientist and faculty member in the sports biomechanics field in Taiwan since 1995. He presently serves on the faculty of the Graduate Institute of Exercise & Sports Science and is the president of the Taiwanese Society of Biomechanics. He joined the ISB as an active member in 1997 when the ISB conference was held in Asia (Tokyo) for the first time. He also served as chair for the ISB 2007 conference in Taipei.

He was first elected to the ISB Board in 2007 and current serving on the Board of ISB. An ISB council member in South Asia will be helpful to attract more researchers from this area in joining the ISB and connect to more “growth” groups within clinics and colleges in the field of biomechanics.

Veronique Feipel obtained a PhD in Physical Therapy in 1997 from the University of Brussels (ULB), Belgium. She is currently Associate Professor of Anatomy and Research Methodology at the Institute for Motor Sciences and Institute of Pharmacy (ULB). Her research interests include spine, wrist and knee kinematics and anatomy, functional evaluation of the spine, kinematic applications of 3D computed tomography and gait analysis. She has been serving the ISB as executive council member since 2007 and is a member of the team that has been appointed to organize the ISB Congress in Brussels in 2011.

She says: "Biomechanics is among the disciplines that request and allow collaboration between researchers from a large variety of disciplines. This trans-disciplinary character offers a platform for enriching exchanges between individuals with different backgrounds. It also implies that we are to provide the next generations of biomechanics researchers with a knowledge that crosses the borders of the individual disciplines. Serving the ISB is for me the opportunity to act as facilitator in the view of crossing frontiers between disciplines and countries, in order to help biomechanists from all backgrounds and from all over the world to feel part of this very rich and diverse ISB community."

Stefan Grau is currently Associate Staff at the Department of Sports Medicine at the University Clinic in Tübingen, Germany. He has been the head of the Biomechanics Laboratory, with 10 senior researchers and 5-10 doctoral students/year, since 2002. After his Bachelor and Master Studies (Sport Science, Biomechanics and Human Anatomy) at the University of Tübingen, Tübingen, Germany and at the University of Oregon, Eugene, USA, he obtained his PhD at the University of Tübingen in 2001. His research focus is on lower extremity mechanics, clinical and training issues and their combined patterns in normal and pathological locomotion, especially with regard to overuse injuries in runners. Further research interests are the development of functional running shoes, safety shoes and children’s shoes, as well as the development of new measurement methods and evaluation software. His current research focus is on the evaluation and treatment of Parkinson’s disease and childhood obesity. Within the scope of patient care, he carries out biomechanical and training-specific analyses on athletes with the aim of recognizing the biomechanical causes of overuse injuries and eliminating them through selected treatments. He has authored and co-authored several research papers in the last years and presented many papers at international and national conferences. He is also a reviewer for several peer reviewed clinical and biomechanical journals.

He says: “I joined the ISB in 2002. If elected as an executive board member, I would like to focus on supporting students and younger researchers to become active members of the society. I also think it is important to expand the international membership of the ISB by implementing and supporting specific programs for students and researchers in emerging (e.g. Eastern Europe) and developing countries.”

John H. Challis obtained both his B.Sc. (Honors) and PhD from Loughborough University of Technology. From Loughborough he moved to the University of Birmingham (UK), where he was a lecturer (human biomechanics).In 1996 he moved to the Pennsylvania State University, where he currently conducts his research in the Biomechanics Laboratory. His research focuses on the coordination and function of the musculo-skeletal system, and the data collection and handling methods required to investigate these. His collaborators include people working in anthropology, engineering, medicine, and motor control. To date he has supervised 19 graduate students. He has regularly attended ISB congresses since 1987, and became a member in 1991. Since 2001 he has been in charge of the ISB archives, which are housed at Penn State. He was first elected onto the ISB Executive Council in 2005.

He says: “My objectives as an ISB Executive Council member would be to continue my duties as the archivist of the ISB. A particular new focus would be to make more information arising from ISB activities, for example past conference proceedings, easily available to all members via the society’s web page.”

Gaining international experience during his studies, Toni Arndt initially completed a BSc (Biology) at the University of Auckland, New Zealand; a MSc (Human Movement Science) at the University of Wollongong, Australia; followed by a PhD (Biomechanics), German Sport University, Germany. He is currently an Associate Professor in Biomechanics and Director of Studies of the Podiatry Program, at the Karolinska Institute, Stockholm, Sweden. Toni’s research interests include 3D kinematics of individual bone segments in the foot, mechanical loading and strain in the Achilles tendon, muscle physiology related to Achilles tendon mechanics, tendon rehabilitation, footwear biomechanics, and prosthesis biomechanics.

He has been a member of ISB since 1992 and with strong involvement in the ISB Footwear Biomechanics Group, being a member of their Executive Council since 2005.

Geneviève Dumas, PhD, P.Eng. is a Professor in the Department of Mechanical and Materials Engineering at Queen’s University, Kingston (Ontario), and cross-appointed in the School of Kinesiology and Health Studies. She received her PhD from Ecole Polytechnique (Montreal) in 1981 and joined Queen’s University in 1985. Her research expertise is in Spinal Biomechanics, and she also has a strong interest in Biomechanics of Pregnancy. She served on the Executive of the Canadian Society of Biomechanics (CSB) as Newsletter Editor for four years, and has just started as one of the co-chairs for the 2010 CSB meeting.

She says: “One of my interests in serving for ISB is to promote the involvement of researchers and students from parts of the world (e.g. Africa, South America, South Asia) that are currently not well represented in ISB and to further facilitate international collaborative research."

Andrew Cresswell, Med dr (Karolinska) is a Professor at The University of Queensland where he has joint appointment in the School of Human Movement Studies and Division of Physiotherapy and is head of the Neuromechanics Laboratory. He obtained his Bachelors degree from The University of Ballarat, Australia (1997), his Masters degree from the University of Western Australia, and his Medical Doctorate in Neuroscience (1994) and Docent in Human Neurophysiology (2000) both from the Karolinska Institute in Sweden. He has previously held teaching and research positions at The University of Otago, The Karolinska Institute and The Swedish School of Sport and Health Sciences. His research is directed toward understanding how the human brain controls movement using biomechanical and neurophysiology techniques. His particular research interests lie within the areas of the neural control of eccentric and concentic muscle actions, neural aspects of muscle fatigue as well as reflexive and voluntary activation of the abdominal musculature during postural tasks. He has co-authored more than 60 peer reviewed publications in leading scientific journals in biomechanics, neurophysiology and physiology. He has presented at more than 70 international conferences and is regularly invited to deliver addresses at symposia and conferences.

He is an Associate Editor for Acta Physiologica, the journal of the European Physiological Society, has served on the editorial board of the Journal of Electromyography and Kinesiology and currently reviews for several additional scientific journals. Andrew has been a member of the International Society of Biomechanics since 1989 and has presented his research at nine of their meetings. He also is a member of other societies including the Society for Neuroscience, The American Physiological Society, The American College of Sports Medicine and The Australian Sports Medicine Association.

He says: “I have been the Awards Officer of the ISB Executive Council since 2007 and will continue to bring to the society my expertise and knowledge of using biomechanics to address issues of human movement.”

Wolfgang Potthast graduated in Physics from the University of Cologne and he graduated in Sport Sciences from the German Sport University Cologne. He received his PhD in sport sciences from the German Sport University Cologne in 2005. He is currently working as an assistant in the group of Prof. Gert-Peter Brüggemann at the Institute of Biomechanics and Orthopaedics at the German Sport University. His main research topics are related to the loading and loading response of the musculo-skeletal system. The effects of technical aids as footwear, prostheses, prosthetics and other sports equipment are one of his main research fields. Wolfgang is member of various sports and biomechanics related national and international societies. In 2007 he was elected as a member of the executive board of the Footwear Biomechanics Group and in 2008 he was elected into the board of directors of the ISBS. In 2005 Wolfgang Potthast received the New Investigator Award of the ISBS and the Nike Basic Research Award of the Footwear Biomechanics Group. He won the Novel Award in the Emed Scientific Meeting 2006. Next to his teaching obligations at the Sport University he is the assisting coordinator of the new master program Sports Technology.

He says: “The ISB allows the exchange of knowledge on a high scientific level. This is possible because dedicated experts discuss topics without exaggerated competitiveness or petty jealousy as sometimes found in other scientific communities.”

Marco Aurélio Vaz, PhD, obtained his B.Sc. (Honors) from the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (Brazil) and his PhD from the University of Calgary (Canada). After his PhD he returned to Brazil, where he has been lecturing (Neuromechanical Bases of Human Movement) and where he currently conducts his research in the Exercise Research Laboratory. His research focuses on muscle function and adaptation to exercise. In 2003 he returned to Calgary for a one year sabbatical, where he did some work in Biomechanics of the Musculoskeletal System. His collaborators include people working in muscle mechanics, muscle architecture, muscle fatigue, medicine, and exercise physiology. To date he has supervised 19 graduate students to completion of their degrees. He has served on the Executive Board of the Brazilian Society of Biomechanics for several years and has forwarded in the past a proposal to host the ISB Congress in Brazil. He became a member of the Society in 2006.

He says: “Despite the financial difficulties from researchers in developing countries to attend regularly ISB congresses, I have made an effort to get funding for all congresses since 1997, and was able to attend the conferences in Zurich, Calgary and Munich. I want to help the Society in terms of reaching researchers in these developing countries, finding their needs and seeking possible ways for the Society to help these scientists.”

Krystyna Gielo-Perczak is Assistant Professor in the Physical Therapy Department at the University of Hartford, Connecticut, and Associate Staff in the Biomedical Engineering Department, in the Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Massachusetts. She obtained a M.Sc. (with Honors) in Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering and her PhD in Biomechanics and Mechanical Engineering from the Dept. of Aeronautics and Mechanical Engineering at the Technical University of Warsaw, followed by postdoc training in Biomechanics in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at University of Torino (Italy). She gained academic experience and mentored the students by serving as a faculty member or visiting lecturer at several universities around the world, including Technical University of Warsaw, University of Toronto, Victoria University of Technology and University of Oregon. Also, she worked at University of Waterloo as a Technical Director of Gait Laboratory. Her research interests are modeling and simulation of the musculoskeletal system, control theory and the systems approach for preventing musculoskeletal injuries. She organized the Computer Simulation Tutorial Workshop at the ISB Conference. She is as a member of the Editorial Board of Theoretical Issues in Ergonomics Science and a Consulting Editor for Occupational Ergonomics. She has been a Biomch-L co-moderator since 1990. She was a member of the executive council of the Technical Group on Computer Simulation (TGCS) from 1993-97, and she served as a member of the ISB Long Range Planning Committee in 1994-95. She crosses boundaries of many scientific approaches. Currently, she serves as chair of The Individual Differences in Performance Technical Group in Human Factors and Ergonomics Society.

She says: “In human performance modeling we need to consider cognitive as well biomechanical factors in the task analysis. We make many attempts to adapt the theoretical concepts of mechanics to biomechanical knowledge. However, we should look for the existing mechanism in the human body, which leaves room for variation and flexibility. Thus, there is an emerging need for the concept of a human system with perceptive insight into complexity of the mutual relationships of the human biomechanical measures and cognitive factors. The description of the individual should reflect the biomechanical measures of fatigue, and the complexity of brain activity, which includes cognition and the dynamic process of knowing.”

David Lloyd is currently Associate Professor in the School of Sports Science, Exercise and Health at the University of Western Australia, Perth, Australia. He is also an Adjunct Professor in the Department of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Delaware. David obtained his PhD from the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia and had a postdoctoral position in the Sensory Motor Performance Program at Northwestern University in Chicago, USA. David's research focuses on the development of neuromuscular skeletal modelling and its application to understanding the causes of and preventing knee joint osteoarthritis and injuries in sport. He has published over 60 research papers, over 110 conference proceedings and 5 book chapters. David is on 4 editorial boards, and an Associate Editor for the Journal of Applied Biomechanics. David has been a member of the ISB since 1991, first as a student member, then a full member on graduation. Since 2005 David has been a reviewer of ISB Student awards.

He says: “I have gained much by being a member of the ISB, creating friends and colleagues all over the world. The ISB meetings have always been places of stimulating discussion and steered my research programs to new and productive directions. I wish to encourage new young researchers in biomechanics to become members of the ISB and to use the ISB meetings to interact with experienced ISB members to develop their research programs. I wish to encourage open exchange of ideas and information between all members of the ISB to grow the discipline of biomechanics in exciting new directions.”

Robert van Deursen is Director of Physiotherapy and of Research at the School of Healthcare Studies, Cardiff University, and he leads the clinical biomechanics laboratory, Research Centre for Clinical Kinesiology, which he established in 1998. He obtained a PhD in Kinesiology at Penn State University, USA (1997) working at the Centre for Locomotion Studies (CELOS). Prior to this he obtained a B.Sc. in Physiotherapy in Utrecht, the Netherlands (1981) and a M.Sc. in Human Movement Sciences at the Free University in Amsterdam (1994). His research is in the area of rehabilitation using biomechanics to develop ways of measuring functional performance and outcome in patients. The recovery from knee injury and prevention of later complications; the effect of footwear and exercise on patients with diabetic neuropathy and related foot complications; and the recovery from stroke and maintenance of mobility in long term neurological conditions are his main areas of research. This work is carried out collaboratively with clinicians and researchers in other areas such as medicine, biosciences, engineering, mathematics and computing.

He has been a member of the ASB and ISB since 1998 and has been a member of the ISB Executive Council since 2007. Within the context of Education he works with the ISB student representative and on the on-line dissemination of ISB keynote lectures.

He says: “I have both a clinical and biomechanical background which provides me with a good understanding of both fields. Biomechanics is a powerful tool to explore movement but is not always well understood within the clinical environment. On the other hand the need for good research in the area of rehabilitation is clearly present. It is my mission to make biomechanics more available for research in this area by developing clinically relevant research methods and procedures so that appropriate evidence becomes more readily available. This is also what I bring to the ISB council.”

Hello. My name is Felipe P Carpes, and I am from Porto Alegre, in the south of Brazil. I completed my graduation in Physical Education in 2004 at Federal University of Santa Maria with a senior project on biomechanics of cycling. In 2006, I completed a Masters Degree in Industrial Engineering at the same University. Simultaneously, I moved to Porto Alegre in 2006 to start the Doctorate program at Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. Currently, I am a PhD student in Human Movement Science. I am interested in the effects of lateral preference on lower limbs performance.

In 2008 I was successful in my application for an ISB International Travel Grant, which made possible travel to Calgary, where I spent two months in the Human Performance Laboratory of The University of Calgary under supervision of Dr. Darren Stefanyshyn. During the preparation for the application I saw how important the participation of the ISB student representative is. Ediuska gave me all the information I needed. The ISB has given me one of the more important opportunities of my academic trajectory until now, and I want to reward the International Society of Biomechanics doing my very best to help other students play an active role in the society.

The ISB is undertaking significant efforts to increase interest of students to join the society, and I am sure that it should be a continuous process. Looking to keep the work started by Ediuska, as your ISB student representative, my primary objective is to increase the number of students joining the society as well as the opportunities to the students become more active in the society. I want to create specific students groups for each continent, which will make possible those students living closer each other to participate together in regional meetings. For this objective, I also aim to create a student committee to increase the communication with fellow students from different continents in order to exchange information, ideas and concerns, and why not develop projects together. I also want to make possible that regional events on biomechanics have a special session for divulgation of the ISB grants and opportunities for students. I hope it works also to encourage development of research on biomechanics in regions of the world with limited funds for science. Together the ISB executive council I will work to increase the number of grants for students trying the sponsor of companies that contribute to the biomechanics advance in specifics countries.

I would be honored to serve as your student representative in the International Society of Biomechanics.

My name is Andrea Muschenborn and I was born in El Salvador in the year 1986. Currently I study Biomedical Engineering at the University of Houston. After I graduate with my Bachelors’ this coming May, I want to pursue a Masters’ in the area of biomedical devices. I am interested in becoming ISB's next student rep. primarily because it is an opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. I consider myself as a good candidate for this position for two reasons. First, I share the same ideology as ISB when it comes to promoting and expanding the study of biomechanics to the whole world. I believe that being able to contact the world's most successful scientists through this organization is a great investment in the education and career development of every student who gets this opportunity. Also, coming from a third-world country, I know the importance of international networking to get access to the best technology available.

Second, my leadership skills, my ability to learn rapidly, my strong work ethic, my motivation and my desire to contribute in increasing scientific advances for the improvement of the quality of life of those in need, match the characteristics that I believe a student rep. should have. If I become the next student rep I will work hard on raising an even greater awareness of the existence of this organization so that more students can join and take advantage of all the opportunities that ISB offers. I will also target under-represented countries where the study of biomechanics is still nascent. I will organize student exchanges as well as seminars and workshop in which scientists and professors will come to those countries to talk about the most recent advances and how they can incorporate in biomechanics research. I am also interested in providing a specific region with the necessary equipment to start a biomechanics laboratory. In addition I will encourage the participation of other student members so that they can share the ideas and projects they have. ISB already offers great opportunities; however, I would work on informing more people about them. Depending on the turnout, I would propose to increase the number of travel grants so that more students can participate at once.

My name is Allison Gruber and I am a second year PhD student in the Department of Kinesiology at the University of Massachusetts, Amherst under the direction of Dr. Joseph Hamill. I previously worked for Dr. Hamill and a physiology professor as a lab tech after receiving my Bachelor’s degree from UMass. I then had the pleasure of achieving my Master’s degree at East Carolina University under the direction of Dr. Paul DeVita before returning to UMass to work towards my PhD.

I study lower extremity biomechanics and I am interested in integrating physiological concepts into biomechanics research. I am currently working on projects examining how metabolic cost changes with altering movement characteristics. My graduate assignment is primarily as a Research Assistant in the Biomechanics Laboratory. I also teach a laboratory section for the undergraduate Anatomy and Physiology course in the Kinesiology Department. I became interested in the field of biomechanics as an adolescent athlete, participating in field hockey, ice hockey and lacrosse. The sport that has become a lifelong passion is figure skating, particularly the growing sport of synchronized skating. After being a 10 year member of an internationally competitive team, I enjoyed coaching young skaters both on and off the ice. I am currently involved with a synchronized skating team by consulting for their off-ice training program and have been a volunteer for their pre-participation fitness screen. There are a number of projects investigating the fitness profiles of these athletes and demands of their sport. I am thrilled to bring my recreational life and my academic life together with my involvement in these ongoing projects.

If I am elected to the position of ISB Student Representative for 2009-2011, I will work towards continuing the goals of past representatives in addition to implementing my own goals. For example, I would like to continue the present student representative’s work promoting biomechanics and the ISB in economically developing countries. I wish to have a more active involvement in the student section of the ISB website, and hope to increase student participation in ISB and increase student exposure to the other labs, research groups, and learning opportunities. To accomplish this, I would also like to create a database of labs and experts in the field in order for students to find and reach out to faculty members with shared research interests. In addition, I would like to provide a forum for the interaction between students through the student section of the ISB website. I would also like to increase participation in the exchange program by encouraging researchers to seek out student visitors and increase student interest in their program. I will also continually explore new grant opportunities and hope to increase funding for ISB student programs from corporations.