CRYO2017 Special Report

A guest post by Fazil Panhwar, student member of the Society for Cryobiology and member of the local organizing committee of CRYO2017. 

Fazil is a Masters student, studying with Society for Cryobiology Governor Professor Gang Zhao, at the University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in Hefei. In addition to his studies, Fazil has been an integral member of the local organizing committee and also led the organization of the ICYR activities. He shares his unique perspective and insights into CRYO2017 in this special report. 

Getting Social at CRYO2017!

After the science wrapped up at CRYO2017, the local organizers arranged a banquet of traditional Chinese fare, including potent local spirit Baijiu. After dinner the student award winners were announced and our outgoing board members recognized for their service to the Society.

Over the following few days a variety of tours were offered by the local organizing committee, including tours to Lake Chaohu, Sanhe Village, an ancient water village, and Mount Huangshan and Hongcun Village, a UNESCO world heritage site. 

Click the thumbnails below to view the high res image. 

ICYR at CRYO2017

The International Cryobiology Youth Researchers (ICYR) had a busy week at CRYO2017 with two social events and the opportunity to actively participate in learning how to chair a session during a symposium. 

On Saturday July 22 the ICYR held a dinner at the Fengda Hotel, which featured a range of Anhui province and other Chinese specialities. The food was an almost endless array of meat and fish and a number of us tasted chicken feet for the first time. Verdict: Spicy and less weird than expected! 

Organ Banking Summit Event Report

Guest Post by Jason Acker, President of the Society for Cryobiology. 

Postdoc at Stanford University 

Organ Preservation Postdoc 

Job Title: Postdoctoral Fellow
Location: Center for Engineering in Medicine
Massachusetts General Hospital & Harvard Medical School  
Closing date: December 2017

Research Specialist Vacancy Missouri-Columbia

Vacancy: Research Specialist
Location: University of Missouri-Columbia
Closing Date: Open until filled 

We have an immediate opening to join our collaborative team as a member of the rodent reproductive and cryopreservation laboratory of the NIH-funded Mutant Mouse Resource and Research Center (MMRRC) and Rat Resource and Research Center (RRRC) located at the University of Missouri-Columbia.  

Individuals must have a BS and/or post-BS degree at any level in an appropriate area of life science (i.e., Biology, Animal Science, Medical Technology, etc.)  A minimum of one (1) year of laboratory-related experience is necessary.  Experience with cell culture, microscopy, surgical procedures and/or reproductive biology is preferred. 

The responsibilities of the position include sperm and embryo cryopreservation; surgical procedures such as embryo transfer and vasectomy; media and hormone preparation; animal injections; data collection and inventory management; preparation of laboratory protocols; and other duties as may be assigned. 

The position requires an exceptional attention to detail, the ability to handle rodents, intensive microscope work and good manual dexterity with a high degree of technical accuracy.  While skills in gamete and embryo micromanipulation are desired, we will train the right individual.  Applicants should be comfortable working as part of an interdisciplinary team and must have excellent communication skills.

This is a full-time, benefit-eligible position and may require some weekends and holiday rotations. The University of Missouri is an equal opportunity employer.

CRYO2017 Report

CRYO2017: The World Cryobiology and Biobanking Conference drew to a close July 23, 2017 after three very busy days of the latest scientific research. The meeting was jointly hosted by the Society for Cryobiology and the China Medicinal Biotech Association and took place at Fengda International Hotel in Hefei, Anhui Province, China.

Dayong Gao Elected to Academy of Sciences

Society for Cryobiology President-Elect, Dayong Gao of the University of Washington, has been elected to the Washington State Academy of Sciences (WSAS). 

The WSAS is a non-profit state resource for the government, organizations and citizens relating to science, technology, health, and the environment, and aims to inform public policy decision making in Washington State. 

Currently comprising 267 members, the WSAS elects only the state's most distinguished scientific and technical experts.

Gao fulfils these criteria through his contributions in the field of cryobiology and the science and technology of artificial organs. His work impacts the development of cutting-edge biotechnology that treats diseases, organ failure, and contributes to species conservation worldwide.

Congratulations to our Student Award Winners

In 2017 the Society for Cryobiology awarded over $12,000 to our student members in travel grants and prize money. 



Above: All Student Prize Winners and Travel Grant Awardees
Back Row: James Benson, Chair of the Awards Committee; Ilya Savchenko (Israel); Ross Warner (USA); Krishna Ramajayam (India). 
Front Row: Dayong Gao, President-Elect, Society for Cryobiology and Co-Chair of CRYO2017; Nikola Dolezalova (UK); Chandrika Kumari (India); Wenhui Li (China); Krishnaa Mahbubani (UK); Kezhou Wu (China); Jason Acker, President, Society for Cryobiology. 
Not pictured: Wei Di (China); Maryam Hezavehei (Iran); Xueru Jiang (China); Jiaji Pan (USA). 

Each year the Society for Cryobiology invites student members to submit an extended abstract to be considered for a number of awards including the prestigious Crystal Award for best student oral presentation, the Critser Travel Award, sponsored by the family of late cryobiologist John K. Critser, and a large number travel grants to attend the Society's annual meeting in order to present their research. All students presenting a poster at the meeting are also eligible to enter the Best Poster Award. 

Welcome to our Newest Members

Welcome to the following new members! 

Ross Warner Wins Critser Award 

Ross Warner has been named the Critser Award winner for 2017.

Searching for Outstanding Individuals 

The Society for Cryobiology established the award and medal of CryoFellow over a decade ago in recognition of members of the society and individuals from the cryobiology community who have had an outstanding impact on the field.

Miao Zhang Defends Thesis 

Student member of the Society for Cryobiology, Miao Zhang, is to defend her thesis on June 23, 2017. During her PhD studies Ms. Zhang received the Society's John K. Critser award for the best extended student abstract in 2015 and the Peter L. Steponkus Crystal award for the best student oral presentation at the Society's meeting in 2016.

Thesis: Towards dry preservation of mammalian cellls
The central aim of this thesis was to test if trehalose can be introduced into mammalian cells during freezing-induced membrane permeabilization and if this subsequently stabilizes cells during freezing and/or freeze-drying. It was hypothesized that membrane-impermeable molecules including trehalose can be loaded into cells through freezing-induced membrane phase transitions. One of the conclusions was that mammalian cells can be loaded with membrane-impermeable compounds (i.e. trehalose) by subjecting the cells to freezing-induced osmotic stress and membrane imperfections. It was shown that trehalose can be used as sole cryoprotectant to cryopreserve cells. Preloading with trehalose via fluid-phase endocytosis did not increase cryosurvival rates if trehalose is also added as extracellular protectant. It is particularly freezing-induced trehalose uptake that facilitates cryosurvival when trehalose is used as the sole cryoprotectant. One other aim was to investigate if freezing-induced uptake of trehalose stabilizes cells during freeze-drying, and to assess the effect of trehalose on storage stability of DNA during freeze-drying and dried storage. No viable cells were recovered after freeze-drying and rehydration. DNA was found to be largely intact directly after freeze-drying. DNA damage in freeze-dried cells progressively increases with storage duration and temperature. DNA damage was prevented by storage of the samples at 4°C. It was shown that trehalose reduces DNA damage during storage.

Biography
Miao Zhang received her education at Southeast University (Nanjing, China) (BE, 2011), after which she completed master's studies at Ulm University (Ulm, Germany) (MSc, 2013). She was accepted in the PhD program ‘Regenerative Sciences’ in 2013 at Hannover Medical School (Hannover, Germany) and conducted her PhD project at the Institute of Multiphase Processes, Leibniz University of Hannover (Hannover, Germany), under the supervision of Dr. Willem Wolkers. 

GE Healthcare Purchases Asymptote

GE Healthcare has recently purchased Asymptote. Founder and CEO of Asymptote, John Morris, is a long time member of the Society for Cryobiology. 

Peter Mazur Memorial Website 

Fritz Kleinhans has recently unveiled a memorial website for the late Peter Mazur. Fritz has invited members of the Society for Cryobiology to submit photographs or remembrances for inclusion on the site. 

Peter Mazur (1928-2015) was a pioneer and leading figure in the world of cryobiology for over 50 years. He was a founding member of the Society for Cryobiology and served as President from 1973-1974. He served numerous terms as Governor and was active at board meeting even while not in office (no one argued with Peter!). He was also a member of the editorial board from 1967 until his death.

Close friends and colleagues of Peter's, Fritz Kleinhans and David Pegg, wrote a touching obituary which was published in the April 2016 issue of Cryobiology. The obituary, along with photos and details of Peter's most important research can all be found on the memorial website.  

Notes From the Director's Desk 

New Member Welcome

Do you have what it takes to govern the Society for Cryobiology?