Abstract
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The dual language English–Chinese opening ceremony featured the presentation of the Basil J. Luyet medal to newly elected Fellow Dayong Gao. Current Society for Cryobiology President, Jason Acker, presented President-Elect Gao with the prestigious medal in recognition of his achievements in the field of cryobiology.
After the opening ceremony, the morning's wide-ranging plenary lectures were provided by Jason Acker (University of Edmonton/Canadian Blood Services), Dayong Gao (University of Alberta), Sebastian Eriksson Giwa (Organ Preservation Alliance), Greg Fahy (21st Century Medicine), Kelvin Brockbank (Tissue Testing Technologies), Xiaoxi Wei (XTherma), Xuefeng Liu, Xiaowen He (Origincell Technology Group), and Jing Liu.
The afternoon featured a plenary session on biobanking in China and in the world (past, present, and future) and then a workshop on Best Practices for Biobanking and Biorepositories, featuring officers and senior members from ISBER, including President Zisis Kozlakidis, immediate past-president Brent Schacter, former presidents William Grizzle and Jim Vaught, and Kathy Sexton. ISBER Executive Director Ana Torres and ISBER Project Manager Lynsey Mellon were also present at the meeting, introducing ISBER to the large cohort of Chinese delegates. The day concluded with a poster session in the poster and exhibit hall, with about 60 posters on display, including a large number of student posters that were considered for the Student Best Poster Award.
This year's exhibit hall was well populated by a wide range of Chinese and international companies and organizations, including Avantech Biobanking Solutions, China National Gene Bank, Cryoxtract, CryoKing by Biologix, Origio, Gold-SIM, Haier, INLEMS Technologie, ISBER, Tofflon, Sorfa Life Sciences, among others.
The second day reflected the theme of the meeting “Cryopreservation and Banking Bio-resources for Advanced Research, Modern Agriculture, and Precision Medicine.” Four concurrent sessions took place in the morning covering basic and applied cryobiology, modern technologies of biopreservation, cryobanking for clonally propagated plants, ice blockers and novel cryoprotectants, plant cryopreservation, cryopreservation of stem cells and immune cells, fertility cryopreservation, and cryopreservation of reproductive cells and tissues. The afternoon consisted of an additional three concurrent sessions covering regenerative medicine, animal and endangered species, bioinspired cryopreservation, plant cryopreservation, biobanking and precision medicine, and cryopreservation of blood cells and products. Importantly there was a strong presence of Chinese colleagues both as speakers and as active members of the audience throughout the day, generating fascinating discussions. The second poster session was held in the evening, followed by the International Cryobiology Young Researchers dinner, which featured local Anhui province specialties.
The final day of the meeting included three concurrent sessions covering vitrification, micro- and nanotechnology, and the always popular Peter L. Steponkus Crystal Award Competition for the best student oral presentation at the meeting. This year's Crystal Award finalists were Ross Warner (United States), Maryam Hezavehei (Iran), Nikola Dolezalova (United Kingdom), and Jiaji Pan (United States). Jiaji Pan, a PhD candidate at the University of Washington, was named the winner of the Crystal Award.
The final evening of the meeting included the traditional awards ceremony and banquet. After a dinner of Chinese specialties and locally brewed spirits, past-president Erik Woods presented outgoing president Jason Acker and outgoing governors W. John Armitage and James Benson with their etched glass awards for services to the Society.
As there is a significant overlap and interplay between cryobiology and biobanking, we expect that the productive relationship between the Society for Cryobiology and ISBER will continue to grow and prosper in the future.