CALL FOR AREA CHAIRS

Join the MICCAI 2026 Area Chairs

We invite researchers who have been active in past MICCAI conferences and are familiar with the review process to volunteer for service on the program committee as Area Chairs (ACs). The quality of the conference depends largely on the paper selection process, and this in turn relies on bringing together the best possible team of ACs. We hope this call for program committee membership will engage scientists with complementary expertise to join the MICCAI 2026 team and deliver a compelling conference for the whole community.

Please keep in mind that not all applicants can be selected. In the first phase, there will be approximately 200 ACs recruited, with a mix of MIC, CAI, and MICCAI experts, as well as those in Clinical Translation of Methodology and Health Equity. We aim to have diversity of senior and more junior candidates, gender, topic, and geography represented. After paper submission, we may invite additional ACs from the database of applicants to ensure coverage of the breadth and depth of expertise required on the program committee.

Being an AC is a demanding but rewarding task that involves: assigning reviewers, managing the review process for 20-25 papers in the initial stage; providing meta-reviews for approximately 15 papers after the rebuttal period (number may change based on the volume of submissions); and proposing outstanding papers for orals and awards. As with previous MICCAI meetings, the CMT system will be used to manage the process, and paper assignment to ACs will be completed automatically using the latest version of the Toronto Paper Matching System (TPMS). The CMT will be used to manage conflicts. ACs will report to the Program Chairs, who will oversee the process.

To understand the responsibilities and time commitment of the ACs, please carefully read the details below before you apply. Note that there will not be any face-to-face program committee meetings. Instead, you will be expected to participate in teleconferences: the first meeting, in early March 2026, is mandatory and will serve as an orientation, while the second meeting, in the summer of 2026, is optional and will focus on discussing the final program and collecting feedback on the process. These will be held in two different time zones to accommodate the geographical spread of our community. All program committee members will be expected to participate in one of the teleconferences to not only help create the final program but also to provide feedback for the overall MICCAI peer-review process.

In recognition of your efforts, your name will be included in the conference program, proceedings, and conference website. The conference will be exploring community-building activities for MICCAI 2026 involving our program committee members.

Schedule of Key Program Committee Duties

ACs are required to be available for the following key, time-sensitive tasks:

End of January	Update subject areas in CMT; upload relevant papers to TPMS
Early March	Attend the 1st AC teleconference
March 9, 2026	ACs receive primary paper assignment (~20-25)
March 10 - 16, 2026 (1 week)	ACs provide suggestions on reviewer assignments /paper format checking
March 25, 2026 (1 day)	ACs check reviewer assignments
March 27 to April 16, 2026 (3 weeks)	Review period ACs monitor review progress and quality, respond to reviewer inquiries, and reassign reviewers if needed
April 16 - 30, 2026 (2 weeks)	Emergency review and decision-making period ACs will provide meta-reviews and make early acceptance recommendations. ACs also assist in finding external reviewers for papers that no emergency reviewers are willing to take on. In rare cases, ACs will be asked to provide missing reviews.
May 7, 2026	Reviews and early acceptance decisions are released
May 8 - 14, 2026 (1 week)	Rebuttal period ACs receive secondary paper assignments (~15)
May 15 - 31, 2026 (2 weeks)	ACs encourage reviewers to update scores during the first week and make independent recommendations (accept/reject) during the second week. ACs provide justifications for their recommendations and recommend papers for orals and awards.
Summer	ACs attend the 2nd PC teleconference (voluntary)

Your responsibilities will end with the 2nd PC teleconference. A detailed timeline is posted on the Conference webpage.

Applying to serve as an Area Chair

We invite all experienced researchers who have been active in past MICCAI conferences and are familiar with the review process to apply. We expect ACs to have at least three years of research experience since a Ph.D. or equivalent, have attended and reviewed for at least three MICCAI conferences, and have published at least three MICCAI conference papers as first or last author. Those who have served as ACs for three consecutive years for past MICCAI conferences are not eligible to apply.

If you are new to the MICCAI community, you may still be eligible to be an AC if you have been involved in the organization of high-quality MIC and/or CAI events, particularly in underrepresented geographical regions; please provide the relevant information about these alternative events. We strongly encourage applications from women and underrepresented communities and regions at MICCAI.

To apply as a MICCAI 2026 Area Chair, please fill out the webform.

The deadline to apply is Monday, January 5, 2026. The conference Program Chairs will carefully review all applications and will respond by January 19, 2026.

We look forward to your applications and to working together for a successful MICCAI 2026.

Best wishes,