The Journey Commemorating BIO's 15th Anniversary

In December of 2001, Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., Publishers (MAL) was approached with the idea of founding a journal dedicated to the diverse field of the preservation of biologics. Shortly thereafter, Cell Preservation Technology (CPT) was founded publishing its inaugural issue in March 2002. In its letter establishing the journal, Liebert Publishers commented, We are delighted to (establish a) new, quarterly peer-reviewed journal, Cell Preservation Technology. The journal will focus on the preservation of “biologics” (cells, tissues, organs, and bioactive macromolecules), a methodology critical to progress in the biomedical sciences and essential to ensuring cell quality and longevity. Cell Preservation Technology will serve as the first journal to provide a unifying forum for researchers from academia, government, and industry in which rapid, authoritative, peer-reviewed communication of recent advances is provided. CPT was to be inclusive of the diverse spectrum of preservation technologies, including cryopreservation, dry state (anhydrobiosis), glassy state, and hypothermic maintenance. The journal sought to emphasize topics on systems preservation, cellular and molecular mechanisms, preservation states, preservation engineering bioprocessing, optimization protocols, natural systems models, and ethical/legal/regulatory considerations.

Three years later in 2005, the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) adopted CPT as its official journal with the publication of the Society's first Best Practices for Repositories and annual meeting abstracts. With the growth of the biobanking community, it was agreed in 2009 to enlarge the scope and rename the journal to Biopreservation & Biobanking (BIO) to better reflect the changing focus and strengthened relationship with ISBER. In 2012, J.G. Baust, PhD, retired as founding Editor-in-Chief and Jim Vaught, PhD, assumed the leadership role of the journal. The next chapter for BIO included an expanded Editorial board with Deputy Editors, Sections Editors, and upcoming biobanking leaders from Asia, Africa, and South America.

Since the first published Best Practices for Repositories (2005), two Best Practices updates have been published (2008 and 2012). Other informational features in the journal have included the “Experts Speak Column,” “Biobank Profiles,” “Biospecimen Briefs,” and the ISBER Corner. It was and continues to be a commitment of the journal to publish Special Issues on relevant topics affecting the preservation sciences and biobanking communities. As the journal's momentum and readership grew, a decision to move from publishing quarterly to six issues per year occurred in 2013. One of our pivotal achievements was reached in 2014 when BIO became Medline/PubMed Indexed.

There are many “measures” that speak of the success of a journal. BIO has an impact factor trending upward, rising from an initial 1.29 in 2013, 1.58 in 2015, and to currently 1.804. Full-text downloads continue to increase and article submissions are strong—more than 100 per annum. A solid and changing Editorial Board assures a quality peer review system, and the addition of Ithenticate^® software in 2013 helps assure that journal content will be novel, not redundant, and provide a healthy journal for the future.

Throughout the 15-year history of CPT and BIO, we commemorate and praise the quality research from trusted scientists in biopreservation and principal leaders in biobanking who have contributed to the outstanding success of this journal. We also acknowledge the great efforts of MAL to support the vision that started so long ago.