Notes From the Director's Desk 

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.  

New Member Welcome

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

Postdoc Position for Bull Semen Cryopreservation Optimization

The Benson Cryobiology laboratory at the University of Saskatchewan, in collaboration with SEMEX, Inc in Quebecc, is offering a 2-year postdoctoral fellowship to an applicant interested in using novel interdisciplinary techniques to optimize bull semen cryopreservation. The successful candidate will work towards bull semen cryopreservation media optimization by determining biophysical parameters, cryoprotectant toxicities, and toxicity minimizing agents. Then they will use these components in a novel way to determine optimal cryoprotectant media equilibration protocols leading to successful post thaw recovery. This interdisciplinary project combines basic sperm science with mathematical modeling and optimization in an applied setting with access to large donor, recipient, and data pools.

Qualifications:

Want to be a student moderator at CRYO2017?

At last year's annual meeting, CRYO2016 in Ottawa, the Society for Cryobiology and the International Young Cryobiology Researchers (ICYR) introduced a student moderator at each symposium to give students the chance to gain valuable experience in moderating a session.

It was such a success that we are repeating it again this year!

If you're a student attending CRYO2017 and would like the chance to practise moderating a symposium please fill in the application form below by June 30. 

'Apollo Program' of Organ Banking Announced

Did you know that for every ONE patient that receives a heart transplant in the USA, TEN hearts from organ donors are wasted because they cannot be transplanted in time?