The Utrecht Bioinformatics Center is very happy to invite you to celebrate with us the 50th anniversary of our discipline, as we know it by its name.

In 1970, Ben Hesper and Paulien Hogeweg coined the term "Bioinformatics" to define "the study of informatic processes in biotic systems". Since then, the meaning of the word has expanded, and so did the field which embraces the vast complexity of the life sciences and became a strong component of it.

With this kickoff symposium, we would like to spark off the festivities we organised this year for you. Some activities are geared toward a general audience, others are specifically brewed for the scientific community but all are great opportunities to connect with each other, to enjoy sparkling science and also to put Bioinformatics in the spotlight. All events will be listed on https://ubc.uu.nl/50-years-bioinformatics/ (work in progress)

The program, starting at 15:00, features three keynote speakers, three generations of bioinformaticians:

• Prof. Dr. Paulien Hogeweg (UU): "Multi-level evolution and information integration"
• Prof. Dr. Martijn Huynen (RadboudUMC): "Analyzing Complexome Profiling data with 50 years of bioinformatics"
• Prof. Dr. Berend Snel (UU): "Comparing genomes to infer the evolution of cellular complexity"

They will share with us their personal journeys into Bioinformatics, what dreams they had when they started and what keeps them going. We will close the symposium with drinks at 17:00 in the reception hall of the Hubrecht Institute.

Registration is free but mandatory. We hope to see you all on Thursday 20.02.2020!

The Utrecht Bioinformatics Center, with the support of the research school Cancer Stem cells & Developmental biology (CS&D).