The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB)

The Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology (SICB) is one of the largest and most prestigious professional associations of its kind. Formed as the American Society of Zoologists through a 1902 merger of two societies, the Central Naturalists and the American Morphological Society, its focus has remained to integrate the many fields of specialization which occur in the broad field of biology. Throughout most of its history the society was known as the American Society of Zoologists and changed its name to the Society for Integrative and Comparative Biology in 1996 to reflect the scientific breadth, integrative approaches, and interests of its membership across all disciplines of biology. The SICB is organized around disciplinary divisions, each relevant to a major segment of biology. The Society is dedicated to promoting the pursuit and public dissemination of important information relating to biology. Research is presented in numerous symposia during the SICB Annual Meeting, as well as in the publication of its journal, Integrative and Comparative Biology (ICB) (formerly: American Zoologist).

Mission:
The mission of SICB is to further research, education and public awareness in the areas of organismal, functional and evolutionary biology. Organismal biology comprises diverse fields that lead to a better understanding of whole organism function and the interface between organisms and their physical and biological environments. Comparative morphological, developmental, physiological, behavioral and biomechanical approaches examine functional diversity and integrate the study of living and physical systems. Evolutionary and ecological approaches examine stability versus change over time, how genomes evolve, how they produce phenotypes, interact with the environment, and lead to functional diversity. SICB encourages interdisciplinary cooperative research that integrates across levels of biological organization, from molecules and cells to ecosystems, and can move beyond standard model organisms and methodologies. SICB also encourages use of new technologies that allow researchers to improve their abilities to collect and properly analyze these new and complex data sets. SICB enhances education and scholarship at all levels, from K-12 to postgraduate. The society also works to inform the public, legislators and granting agencies of the importance of organismal biology and its potential to produce valuable new knowledge, findings, applications and tools.