Dear Members, 

I am honored to begin my term as President of the Society for Cryobiology. Having been a member of the SfC for over 25 years, and having served the SfC in multiple roles over that time, it is a privilege to now help guide an organization that has impacted my own career.

I would first like to sincerely thank Prof. Allison Hubel for her leadership and stewardship as President. Allison worked diligently to strengthen Society operations, governance, and continuity. I intend to continue these efforts and build upon the substantial progress made during her term. The Society is in a stronger position today because of her efforts.

The SfC has long been a unique and intellectually diverse scientific home, spanning fundamental cryobiology, plant and animal systems, gametes, tissues and organs, hypothermic storage, cryopreservation, cryoablation as well as other clinical and translational applications. This diversity is a strength, but it also places a responsibility on us to ensure that the Society remains cohesive, relevant, and visible across the broader scientific and biomedical landscape.

Looking ahead, my focus as President will be on reinforcing the SfC’s role as the scientific leader in cryobiology while expanding its engagement and impact beyond our traditional base. Advances in biotechnology, regenerative medicine, cell and gene therapy, organ preservation, and cryo-based clinical therapies increasingly rely on cryobiological principles, yet the Society is not always the first place external communities look for leadership or guidance. We can, and should, change that.

This will require thoughtful growth: supporting our core scientific disciplines while strengthening connections to industry, clinical translation, and emerging applications of cryobiology. Done well, this approach benefits all members by increasing visibility, opportunity, and long-term stability for the Society without narrowing its scientific scope.

I encourage every member to remain engaged - through meetings, committees, publishing in Cryobiology, and open dialogue about how the SfC can best serve the scientific community. I welcome your ideas and look forward to working together to advance both the discipline of cryobiology and the Society itself.

Thank you for your continued commitment to the Society for Cryobiology. I am excited about what lies ahead.

With best regards,
John M. Baust, Ph.D.
President
Society for Cryobiology

	The 7th Cryobiology Symposium was held by Royan Institute, under the scientific secretary of Dr. Rouhollah Fathi (Associate Professor of Royan Research Institute) and Executive Secretary Mrs. Pegah Shayegh (PhD student of Developmental Biology) on Wednesday, February 21, 2024. Due to this year's interdisciplinary cooperation, this symposium was named "CBE: CryoBioEngineering Symposium". A total of 900 students, researchers, and experts benefited from the scientific programs of the CryoBioEngineering symposium.
Educational Deputy		ACECR

 

2023 Election Results

I am pleased to announce the following winners of the 2023 Society for Cryobiology election:

We are pleased to announce the winners of the 2025 election.

Thank you to the Nominating Committee, and to all candidates who stood for election. 

Congratulations to former Society president (2016-2019), Prof. Dayong Gao on his appointment to President-Elect of ISBER! 

Congratulations to Prof. Boris Rubinsky, the recipient of the 2023 H.R. Lissner Medal!

2022 Election Results

We are pleased to announce the following winners of the 2022 election for 3 Governor-at-Large roles for the term January 2023 - December 2025. These results are in no particular order: 

Society for Cryobiology Past President (2018-2019) and Fellow Prof. Dayong Gao, and two of his group members Dr. Shen Ren and Dr. Zhiquan (Andy) Shu were recently interviewed by Forbes about the future of cryobiology. Prof. Gao leads the University of Washington's Center for Cryo-Biomedical Engineering and Artificial Organs in Seattle. 

The article offers an overview of the history of cryobiology, cryonics, and cryogenics, as well as a glimpse into the future of cryobiology research. 

The article touches on the work of deceased cryobiology giants such as Peter Mazur and Stanley Leibo.  Also mentioned are current Society for Cryobiology President Greg Fahy, and Past Presidents Jason Acker (2018-2019) and Adam Higgins (2020-2021), as well as Society Fellows John Bischof and Bill Rall, and long time members and current and former Governors Boris Rubinsky, Kelvin Brockbank, and Gang Zhao.  

Read the Full Article - Note the verbatim interview starts approximately half way down the page. 

The 5th Royan Symposium on Cryobiology and Biobanking was held here at Royan Research Institute (Tehran, Iran) on February 23, 2022, starting with a message from Society for Cryobiology President, Professor Gregory M. Fahy.  This year's virtual symposium enjoyed over 160 participants and highly notable lecturers from all around the world whose topics and speeches enriched the symposium far beyond what was expected, leading to fruitful discussion sessions. The main topics of this one-day symposium were cryoinjury, cryopreservation of reproductive cells & tissue, biobanks, and cryopreservation in COVID-19 times.

The nominations committee is now inviting expressions of interest from all Society members in good standing for the following positions

3x Governors (2023 - 2025) 

I pleased to announce the new Editor-in-Chief of Cryobiology has been named as Prof. Janet A.W. Elliott. Prof. Elliott will assume the role of Editor-in-Chief on January 1, 2022.

After a 12-year tenure Prof. David Rawson recently made the decision to step down as Editor-in-Chief to enjoy a (second!) retirement, but also as he believes the role of Editor-in-Chief will be better served by someone who is still active in research.

2021 Election Winners 

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Nucharin Songsasen and Dr. Kelvin Brockbank as our new Associate Editors for Cryobiology. Alongside Barbara Reed and Wim Wolkers, this brings the total number of Associate Editors to four. 

		Dr. Nucharin Songsasen joined the Smithsonian Conservation Biology Institute (SCBI) in 2002. She has led the Global Canid Conservation program within SCBI since 2002, expanding the program's efforts from the laboratory to field conservation in countries such as Brazil, Thailand, and Myanmar. Her laboratory focuses on developing technologies to grow ovarian follicles from domestic dogs and cats in vitro as models for preserving genetics from wild canids and felids. In December 2018 Dr. Songsasen became the head of the Center for Species Survival within SCBI. Dr. Songsasen has been a member of the Cryobiology editorial board since 2012.
		Dr. Kelvin Brockbank is the Founder and CEO of Tissue Testing Technologies, Research Professor of Bioengineering at Clemson University, and Adjunct Professor of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology at the Medical University of South Carolina. His research interests include cell, tissue and organ cryopreservation for test systems and transplantation and manufacturing methods for cell-based tissue engineered therapy products. Dr. Brockbank has been a member of the Cryobiology editorial board since 2016.

The nominations committee is now inviting expressions of interest from all Society members in good standing for the following positions

• President-Elect (2022 - 2023) --> President (2024-2025)
• Treasurer (2022 - 2023)
  
• Secretary (2022 - 2023)
• 3x Governors (2022 - 2024) 

The President-Elect, Treasurer, and Secretary form the Society for Cryobiology's Executive Committee, along with the President and Executive Director. They hold monthly meetings to discuss current Society business. They also partake in the quarterly Board of Governors meetings, and other duties outlined below. Specifics relating to these roles can be found in the Society's bylaws. 

Society for Cryobiology Governors take an active role in the decision making that guides the Society. Governors participate in quarterly Board meetings and take on leadership responsibilities in various Society committees. They may also be involved in leadership roles in other Society activities of their interest, for example the Annual Meeting, or ad hoc projects. 

To express your interest or for an informal discussion regarding the various roles please email Executive Director, Nicole Evans. Please note all nominations are subject to approval by the nominations committee. This does not affect your right to nomination by petition as outlined in the Society's bylaws. 

If your candidate nomination is accepted or you are nominated by petition you will be required to provide a detailed biography, statement outlining your vision for the Society, and a photograph for the election materials. 

The deadline to express your interest in standing as a candidate for Governor is Monday August 16, 2021. The election will be held October 11-25, 2021.

Vancouver-January 12, 2021--The International Society for the Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER), which represents professional experts in biobanking, ultra-low temperature (ULT) storage, and cold chain management, has released its position statement listing key practices health agencies should consider to support the COVID-19 vaccine distribution with dedicated ULT freezers. The document, titled "Ultra Low Temperature Freezers: Key Considerations," provides evidence based guidance for those responsible for distribution, storage, and management of the vaccine, to resources that detail the fundamentals of safe and efficient ULT freezer management, shipping, and distribution.

"The global biobanking community has consolidated our knowledge and expertise into a brief one page resource. We aim to minimize the learning curve and to help people and health agencies new to ultra-low temperature storage avoid common pitfalls," said Piper Mullins, President-Elect of ISBER.

The document draws on accepted practices known to ensure robust ULT product storage and distribution that are routinely used by biorepositories. The document represents a consensus view from the biobanking community. The organization drew on the expertise of biorepository managers and industry vendors with further reference from the ISBER Best Practices, Fourth Edition. The statement intends to supplement guidance from national and local health agencies on managing the cold chain deployment of frozen COVID-19 vaccines.

 "We want ISBER to be the go-to resource for the growing number of people who are just learning about ultra-low storage and handling during this fraught time," said Associate Professor Daniel Catchpoole, President of ISBER. "As a scientific community who are experts in cold chain logistics of biological specimens, it is vital that our national health agencies draw on the expertise ISBER provides to guide the proper management of freezers for the distribution of biological therapeutics." 

To learn more about the association please visit www.isber.org.

About the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories

ISBER (www.isber.org) is the only global forum that addresses harmonization of scientific, technical, legal, and ethical issues relevant to repositories of biological and environmental specimens. ISBER fosters collaboration; creates education and training opportunities; provides a forum for the dissemination of state-of-the-art policies, processes, and research findings; and provides an international showcase for innovative technologies, products, and services. Together, these activities promote best practices that cut across the broad range of repositories that ISBER serves.

About the ISBER Best Practices

The ISBER Best Practices: Recommendations for Repositories Fourth Edition presents the most effective practices for the management of biological and environmental specimen collections and repositories. These are either evidence-based or consensus-based practices for collection, long-term storage, retrieval, and distribution of specimens. Development of best practices is a rigorous, consensus-based process that reflects advances in research and technology. To access, please visit: https://www.isber.org/page/BPR.