Funding

Society funding: The Holz-Conner Travel Fund provides funding for travel to Society meetings. Visit the Awards page to learn more.

2026 Joint-Member Affiliate Societies Meetings Sponsored by the International Society of Protistologists (ISoP)

ISoP’s Grants-In-Aid Program will benefit more than 1,180 participants from six countries who will attend local/regional protistology meetings organized and hosted by ISoP’s Joint-Member Affiliate Societies. In 2026, these will be the gatherings:

• May 15-18, 2026 – The Chinese Protozoological Society (CPS) will host the 5th Young Scholars Symposium of the CPS. The meeting will aim at providing a platform for young protozoologists to exchange ideas, present research findings, and foster collaborations. The symposium will further enhance academic communication among young protozoologists, likely making significant contributions to the advancement of protozoology in China. The event will take place from May 15 to 18, 2026, in Xiamen City, Fujian Province, China. Expected number of participants: 150. Contact: Dr. Jie Xiong (xiongjie@ihb.ac.cn). — ISoP’s sponsorship: $1900 USD.

• June 23-26, 2026 – The Korean Society of Protistologists (KSOP) will hold its 2026 Annual Meeting, jointly organized with the 11th International Chrysophyte Symposium 2026, on June 23–26, 2026, at Sungkyunkwan University, South Korea. The gathering will include scientific presentations and discussions on freshwater, marine, and soil protists across diverse research areas. Approximately 50 participants are expected to attend. Contact: Dr. Eunsoo Kim (eunsookim@ewha.ac.kr). Meeting website: https://ics2026.org/. — ISoP’s sponsorship: $1900 USD. 

• September 3-4, 2026 – The Spatial Proteomics Workshop for Protists, organized by Protistology UK (https://www.protistology.org.uk), will be held on 3–4 September 2026 at the Natural History Museum, London, United Kingdom, with 120 participants expected. Genomics has transformed modern protistology, providing phylogenetic frameworks and revealing molecular diversity across eukaryotes. However, interpreting this diversity remains a major challenge. Spatial proteomics approaches, including LOPIT, enable thousands of proteins to be assigned simultaneously to subcellular locations such as organelles, complexes, substructures, and symbionts. These methods offer powerful opportunities to link molecular data to cell biology in diverse protist systems. This workshop will present practical strategies for generating and interpreting spatial proteomes and is aimed at a broad protistology audience. It will support researchers wishing to implement these tools in their own systems, as well as those exploring their potential, while fostering discussion with experienced practitioners and building a strong peer network for emerging spatial proteomics programs. Contact: Dr. Fiona Henriquez-Mui (fiona.henriquez@strath.ac.uk). — ISoP’s sponsorship: $1400 USD.

• September 8-11, 2026 – The Italian Society of Protistology (Società Italiana di Protistologia, SIP ETS, https://siponlus.it/) is pleased to announce the UZI-SIP 2026 Joint Meeting, which will include the 85th Congress of the Unione Zoologica Italiana and the 35th Congress of the Società Italiana di Protistologia. The meeting will take place in Milan, Italy, from September 8–11, 2026, at the University of Milan. This joint congress will provide an opportunity to discuss fundamental aspects of animal biology and protist biology, as well as the broader societal impact of these research fields. A strong participation of early-career researchers is particularly encouraged. SIP, as co-organizer, will coordinate a parallel symposium entirely dedicated to Protistology. Approximately 250 participants are expected. Contact: Dr. Federico Buonanno (federico.buonanno@unimc.it). — ISoP’s sponsorship: $1400 USD.

• September 25-27, 2026 – The Japan Society of Protistology (JSP https://www.protistology.jp/index_E.html) will hold its 59th Annual Meeting at the Yokosuka Arts Theater, Yokosuka, Japan. The meeting will be held from September 25 to 27, 2026. The purpose of the meeting will be to provide a forum for academic exchange among JSP members and to advance research in protistology. The expected number of participants is 70 per day (rotating number on a daily basis). Contact: Dr. Akinori Yabuki (yabukia@jamstec.go.jp), Senior Researcher, JAMSTEC; Professor, Tohoku University. — ISoP’s sponsorship: $1000 USD.

• November 9-11, 2026 – The Brazilian Society of Protozoology (SBPz) is proud to announce the XLI Annual Meeting of the SBPz, held alongside the LII Annual Meeting on Basic Research in Chagas’ Disease. This prestigious gathering will take place from November 9th to 11th, 2026, at the Hotel Glória in Caxambu, MG, Brazil. Continuing a tradition that began in 1973, the event serves as a vital hub for researchers focused on protozoan parasites. The meeting aims to foster an environment for active discussion, networking, and the exchange of cutting-edge technologies between international scientists and students. The 2026 program features 12 conferences and six specialized round tables covering Protozoan Biology, Parasite-Host Interaction, and Translational Research. With an expected attendance of 300 to 400 participants, the “Caxambu Meeting” remains a cornerstone of the scientific community. Contact: SBPz (sbpz@sbpz.org.br). Meeting website: https://sbpz.org.br/en/xli-annual-meeting-of-the-brazilian-society-of-protozoology/. — ISoP’s sponsorship: $2400 USD.

Call for Symposium Proposals

The Protistology Open conference will be held 19–23 April 2026 in Prague, Czech Republic. ISOP will sponsor 2 symposia at this conference, each consisting of 3-6 speakers. 6,000 USD will be allocated per symposium. We encourage topics that address broad areas of research, rather than focusing on a particular taxon.

Only active symposium speakers are eligible for travel reimbursement. Maximum travel reimbursement is 1,500 USD per person.

Proposals should consist of a single page as follows:

1. Symposium title.
2. Proposers – 1 or 2, who MUST be current ISOP members.
3. Summary of symposium theme (<300 words), explaining the importance and relevance/timeliness of the topic.
4. Short-list of 3-6 gender-balanced potential speakers, with affiliations and a couple of recent references or a sentence that rationalizes each potential speaker. At least one of the potential speakers must be an early-career researcher (e.g., student or postdoc), and we also encourage the inclusion of leaders in the given field. The speakers do not need to be ISOP members. The proposers can be speakers. No person can be listed as a potential speaker on more than one symposium application.
5. Indicate if the speakers have agreed in-principle, and that they understand they will only be partially reimbursed.
6. Indicate if the speakers will submit a symposium (or mini) review to the Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology (free page charges).
7. References can be listed on a second page.

Send proposals to micah.dunthorn@nhm.uio.no with the subject line “ISOP 2026 meeting symposium proposal” by 10 December 2025.

The ISOP Programme Committee will evaluate the submitted proposals. The main criteria will be:

1. Excellence and timeliness.
2. Distinctiveness from previous ISOP-funded symposia.
3. Intention to submit a symposium (or mini) review by some or all of the supported speakers to the Journal of Eukaryotic Microbiology.
4. Interaction with other activities associated with the conference.

Successful proposals will be announced by 19 December 2025.

Successful proposers will be required to arrange speakers, chair the symposium, and apportion financial support (subject to oversight by the Programme Committee). The Programme Committee reserves the right to change the suggested speakers. If you have additional questions, please contact micah.dunthorn@nhm.uio.no

Grants-in-aid

Grants-in-Aid provide support for other protistology societies that have taken the formal steps to become an ISOP affiliate. A list of eligible sections is posted on the ISOP website. Address questions about affiliated society status to the Vice President. These awards are intended to stimulate novel programs of the sections, including uniquely themed meetings or special opportunities. Applications for support of regular periodic meetings will generally not be successful.

Grants-in-aid 2024-2025
We are pleased to share that ISoP’s Grants-In-Aid 2024-2025 cycle was successful. We had six affiliate societies submitting grant proposals. All of them were funded. ISoP looks forward to their meetings and receiving their reports:

USD 1,000 to support the 2025 Society of Eukaryotic Microbiology (former German Society for Protozoology) meeting in Neuchâtel, Switzerland, on February 12-14, 2025.

USD 1,800 to support the 40th Meeting of the Brazilian Society of Protozoology (SBPz) on November 10-12, 2025, at the Hotel Glória, in Caxambu, Minas Gerais, Brazil.

USD 1,800 to support the 23rd Symposium of the Chinese Protozoological Society will be held in Zhengzhou, Henan Province, China, in October / November 2025

USD 1,800 to support The 4th International Congress on Euglenoids (EIN2025) in Osaka Metropolitan University, Japan, on June 30 and July 1, 2025.

USD 1,800 to support the 54th Jírovec’s Protozoological Days in Frymburk, Czech Republic, on 21-25 April 2025.

USD 1,800 to support the Protistology-UK Autumn 2025 meeting in mid-September at the Natural History Museum, London, UK.

Photo by David J. Patterson