New Fellows Announced
The Board of Governors is pleased to announce the recent approval of two new Fellows of the Society for Cryobiology: Jason Acker and Janet Elliott. Janet and Jason will be presented with their Fellow medals during a special session at CRYO2019, held in San Diego, July 22-25, 2019.
Jason Acker
Dr. Jason Acker is a Senior Research Scientist with the Canadian Blood Services and a Professor in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology at the University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. He received his Bachelor of Science, Master of Science in Experimental Pathology and PhD in Medical Sciences degrees from the University of Alberta. In 2000, Dr. Acker completed a Canadian Institutes of Health Research Post-Doctoral Fellowship at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Dr. Acker received a Master of Business Administration in Technology Commercialization program from the Alberta School of Business at the University of Alberta in 2009.
Focusing his research on understanding the biological response of cells to freezing and freeze-drying has allowed Dr. Acker to develop a solid foundation from which he has contributed to the design of new methods for the long-term storage of a number of cell types and tissues.
Dr. Acker’s research program over the past 15 years has continued to focus on expanding our understanding of the biological response of cells and tissues to freezing and freeze-drying. His work has specifically focused on the development of intracellular protectants as a novel class of molecules that can protect cells and tissues during freezing and drying. In addition to the seminal contributions to our understanding of cryoinjury that Dr. Acker has made, it has been the translation work that he is often most recognized for. In the area of transfusion medicine, Dr. Acker is a world leader in understanding the effects of blood component manufacturing and low-temperature storage on patient outcomes and has led many national and international efforts to improve the quality and safety of blood components. Dr. Acker’s blood services laboratory has responsibility for developing scientific and technical evidence to support innovative changes in blood product manufacturing, storage and utilization at CBS. Dr. Acker leads efforts to assess new technology, products and processes that can improve the efficiency, quality and safety of blood product manufacturing. Through his study of low temperatures, Dr. Acker has made, and will continue to make, significant contributions the practical aspects of cell and tissue banking.
Janet Elliott
Biography courtesy of University of Alberta
Dr. Elliott obtained her B.A.Sc. in Engineering Science (Engineering Physics Option) and her M.A.Sc. and Ph.D. in Mechanical Engineering at the University of Toronto. She has been a Visiting Professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and at the Oxford Centre for Collaborative Applied Mathematics.
Dr. Elliott currently serves as Associate Editor of the journal Cryobiology, on the Editorial Advisory Board of The Journal of Physical Chemistry, and on the American Chemical Society Division of Colloid & Surface Chemistry Executive Committee. She has served on scientific committees for international conferences in the areas of cryobiology, surfaces and colloids, and space physical sciences. She has served on grant selection committees for all three of the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada, the Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR) and the Canadian Space Agency (CSA). She has served as a member of the Physical Sciences Advisory Committee for the Canadian Space Agency and on the Board of Directors of the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering.
Dr. Elliott’s research has been recognized nationally in science and engineering by the Canadian Society for Chemical Engineering Syncrude Canada Innovation Award (2008), the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council Doctoral Prize (1998), the Canadian Council of Professional Engineers Young Engineer Achievement Award (2001), the Canadian Institute for Advanced Research Young Explorer’s Prize (2002) and Time Magazine’s Canadians Who Define the New Frontiers of Science (2002). Dr. Elliott has also received provincial and University awards including the University of Alberta Teaching Unit Award (2004, 2016). As one student put it, “She could convince rocks to study thermodynamics.”