Bylaws Revision Complete

A guest post by Jason Acker  
 
I would like to thank all of you for taking time to participate in the discussions and for voting on the proposed revisions to our Society’s bylaws.  As one of the important documents which guides who we are as a Society and how we choose to operate as an organization, our bylaws need to be up to date and reflect current best practices and laws governing not for profit corporations. The proposed changes were the culmination of more than a decade of discussion, debate and consultation with subject matter experts.

I am happy to report that the motion to ratify the revisions to the Society’s bylaws was carried. The final voter turnout was 59% (153/260 members), with 149 of the voters in favour of adopting the revised bylaws (57% of the membership as a whole). 

I would like to personally thank Jens Karlsson, John Armitage, Art Rowe, John Baust, the members of the Bylaws and Policies Working group (Greg Fahy, Steve Mullen, Andy Picken, Elena Salvaterra), Ed Kordoski, Nicole Evans, our advisors at Maryland NonProfits and all current and past members of the board who have contributed to making this outcome a reality.

I would like to acknowledge that throughout this process there were members who felt strongly that some of the proposed changes were not in the best interest of the Society.  I would like to assure you that your feedback was heard and that it was carefully considered.  Some of the feedback that was received that is not reflected in the revised bylaws will be included in the policies and procedures that are now a focus of the Working Group. 

Now that the Society has established a mechanism for reviewing and updating our bylaws, we should undertake a process to regularly review them and update and adapt them as needed to ensure that they reflect who we are as a Society and how we choose to deliver on the important mission for which our Society was established.

As I transition off of the board and assume my new role as a general member of the Society, I would like to thank all of your for your support during my tenure on the board and as your President. I look forward to continuing to engage with all of you at our scientific meetings and on the various committees and working groups that I may have the privilege of serving on with you.

View the Revised Bylaws

Cryobiology Post-Doc at CDC Foundation 

Entomologist, Biologist or Cryobiologist, Post Doc
Location: Red River Valley Agricultural Research Center
USDA-ARS, Fargo, ND, USA
Closing Date: February 2, 2018
Link: https://www.cdcfoundation.org/jobs/entomologist-biologist-or-cryobiologist-post-doc-941

Senior Engineer in Cancer Immunotherapy 

Company: Kite
Location: Santa Monica, CA, USA
Closing Date: Open until filled

2018 Officers and Governors Transition

Incoming 2018 Board Members 

CRYO2018 Student Awards Open

Entry for the CRYO2018 Student Awards and Travel Grants is now open.

Download application form.

Motion to Adopt Revised Bylaws 

Time is running out to vote in the motion put to all members to revise the Society's bylaws. Voting closes December 31, 2017 at 23:59 ET. 

Read the revised bylaws and the summary of changes. 

All members in good standing should have received by now several emails with instructions for online voting. If you have not received these emails please check your spam/junk folder and then contact us. 

The revised bylaws currently before the members are the culmination of approximately three years work, and at least 10 years of discussion by the Board of Governors. The past year in particular has seen outstanding progress by a special bylaws working group chaired by current President, Jason Acker. This group has worked tirelessly alongside Maryland Nonprofits, an association for Maryland nonprofit associations, to update our ageing bylaws, which currently date from 1995.  

The members of the bylaws working group in full are: Jason Acker (chair), Ed Kordoski (Executive Director), Greg Fahy (governor), and Society members Elena Salvaterra, Andy Picken, and Steve Mullen. 

BYLAWS FAQ

Call for Abstracts 

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