ISBER Launch Biobanking Accreditation

The International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) and the American Society for Clinical Pathology Board of Certification (ASCP BOC) announced on December 11, 2017, that they have reached an agreement to develop a new Biobanking Practitioner Qualification. 

ASCP BOC offers qualifications for medical laboratory professionals and has certified more than half a million people since its inception in 1928. 

ISBER, established more recently in 1999, represents professionals in biological and environmental biorepositories.

From early 2019 ISBER members who fulfil certain educational and experience requirements will be able to sit an online examination to recognize their biobanking skills. 

ISBER President, Zisis Kozlakidis, said, "Improving the quality of biobanking practices is essential to improving research outcomes, especially in the fields of translational and precision medicine. With this new qualification we will be able to advance the science of biobanking to the level required to support future healthcare breakthroughs." 

Free Safety Webinars

The Cryogenic Society of America is offering a series of free cryogenic safety webinars during January and February 2018. 

The topics are: 

Election Results: Officers and Governors Announced!

President-Elect and chair of the nominating committee, Dayong Gao, offers his congratulations to the winning candidates of the Society for Cryobiology election. 

After you've read all about the winners, please take a moment to renew your membership for 2018, if you have not already done so. 

Governor, Serean Adams, in the News

Serean Adams, pictured at Cawthron Aquaculture Park in Nelson, New Zealand.

Society Governor, Dr. Serean Adams, was in the news after speaking about the future and challenges facing aquaculture at New Zealand's recent industry conference held in Nelson, New Zealand.

Dr. Adams, who completed her PhD under Cryobiology Editor-in-Chief, Prof. David Rawson, is now Aquaculture Group Manager at Cawthron Institute, New Zealand's largest independent science organisation, specialising in science that supports the environment and development within primary industries. 

Read the full article to see what Serean has to say about the future of marine cryobiology. 

SLTB Meeting September 19-20

Guest Post and Photos by Estefania Paredes | Photo Gallery courtesy of Alasdair Kay

Graduate student research positions at University of Saskatchewan

Student Positions in reproductive biology, biophysics, and mathematical biology.

Meet Your Election Candidates

First Row: Adam Higgins, Tiantian Zhang, Zhiquan (Andy) Shu, Yuansheng (Tony) Tan
Second Row: Yuksel Agca, Ido Braslavsky, Ram Devireddy, Igor Katkov
Third Row: Peter Kilbride, Krishnaa Mahbubani, Estefania Paredes, Barbara Reed
Fourth Row: Peter Wilson, Erik Woods, Gang Zhao

This year's Society for Cryobiology election is for the elected executive officer positions of President-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer for a two year term (2018-2019) and three Governor-at-Large positions for a three year term (2018-2020).

Download candidate biographies and vision statements

The election will open for voting on Monday October 23, 2017 for a two week period. Voting will be online. All current members of the Society will receive an email containing their personalized voting link before the election opens. No log in is necessary as each personalized link provides you with a one time use election ballot. Please check your ballot carefully before you submit as you are not able to edit your vote once it has been submitted. If you have not received your voting link by the time the election has opened please check your spam/junk email folder and then contact Nicole Evans.

Voting will close 23:59 US/Eastern Monday November 6, 2017. 

The candidates in full are: 

President-Elect

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. 

Organ Preservation Postdoc 

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

Postdoc at Stanford University 

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.

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. 

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.

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.