Thank you and Farewell from Outgoing President, Dayong Gao

As my term as President of the Society for Cryobiology draws to a close, I would to express my deep appreciations and to reflect on the achievements of our society during the previous two years. 

Firstly, my sincere thanks go to my fellow Board of Governors, and particularly the Executive Committee members: Dr. Adam Higgins (President-Elect), Dr. Andy Shu (Treasurer) and Dr. Yuksel Agca (Secretary). The Executive and Board of Governors give their time freely and generously for the betterment and advancement of the Society, for which we cannot thank them enough. 

I would also like to acknowledge and thank Executive Director, Nicole Evans, for her continued and distinguished work in leading planning, development and administration for the Society. I must also thank the tireless and outstanding work of Dr. David Rawson, Editor-in-Chief, of Cryobiology and the excellent Editorial Board, who contribute their tremendous time and efforts to review the journal’s submissions to ensure the high quality and publication standard.

The Society has made many great strides during my term as President. I am exceptionally proud to have overseen the introduction of two new awards of our Society, both inaugurally awarded in 2019. Firstly, the Dayong Gao Young Investigator Award (sponsored by the GoldSim) to recognize a most outstanding young researcher in their early career, and secondly, the Arthur W. Rowe Cryobiology Best Paper Award, to recognize the most outstanding research article published in the journal each year. Furthermore, the Board of Governors is currently finalizing the Peter Mazur Prize (a Lifetime Achievement Award), which will recognize individuals who have reached the highest level of devotion and achievement in the field of cryobiology. 

I have continued to focus on forging new collaborations and strengthening and renewing familiar ties, with a number of signed memorandums of understanding (MOUs) with ISBER, ISCT, Knect365, and others. One of the most exciting collaborations of the last two years has been the co-publication with ISBER of the freely downloadable Liquid Nitrogen Best Practices Addendum. If you have not yet had the chance to read it, I highly recommend it.

With regard to the Annual Meeting, the Society for Cryobiology has now completed the transition period from local organizing committee to in-house organization, with Nicole leading logistics for CRYO2018 in Madrid, and logistics and fundraising for CRYO2019 in San Diego. She will continue to lead logistics and fundraising for CRYO2020 in Chicago, and beyond. One of her current focuses is to establish and cement relationships with key industry individuals to secure the financial viability and profitability of the meeting.  

As cryobiologists, we are entering a new era when cryobiology has a unique and significant contribution and impact on almost every major biological/biomedical research and application area. A once opaque science shrouded in mystery (and liquid nitrogen vapors!) has captured the attention of the public through mainstream news/articles on tissue engineering, biobanking, cellular-gene therapy, artificial organs, tissue-organ transplantation, regenerative medicine, and precision-personalized medicine. With this diverse range of applications and growing public acknowledgement, this is an exciting time for the field, its scientists and end users, and the Society for Cryobiology.

Lastly, I must thank you, our members for electing me to the position of President and allowing me the opportunity to lead the Society for Cryobiology. As each President builds upon the momentum of his predecessor, I trust I leave the Society healthy, strong, and resilient for new incoming President, Dr. Adam Higgins, who takes the reins 2020-2021. 

I wish you all a Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! 

Cheers,

Dayong Gao, Ph.D
President,
Society for Cryobiology
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L.Shen - Tuesday, December 24, 2019
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Many thanks to Professor Gao for his contribution to the field of cryobiology during his president of the Society for Cryobiology. We all believe that cryobiology will get better in the future! 学生祝高老师身体健康,万事如意!祝低温生物医学界的所有同仁新年快乐!Linsio

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