Abstract
The International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) is the leading global forum for promoting harmonized high-quality standards, ethical principles, and innovation in the science and management of biorepositories. Our mission is to create opportunities for networking, education, and innovations to evolving challenges in biological and environmental repositories. To this end, ISBER reflects the great variety of biobanking operations and voices the needs, concerns, and achievements of >1200 biobanks worldwide while the membership continues to grow steadily. The ISBER Board and the directors-at-large are committed to the mission-driven global outlook of the organization. To enhance ISBER's presence globally, during 2018 the organization undertook a number of different initiatives that saw it reach new areas of influence and growth. In this ISBER Corner, an update of several recent global activities is provided.
Leading in the International Scientific Dialogue
ISBER continues to support the international scientific dialogue, providing many opportunities for the ISBER members to network, connect with each other and the organization. During 2018, the ISBER management has established strong collegiate associations with key professionals that have allowed us to engage with biobanking communities around the world and will see ISBER support the new and burgeoning biobanks in new territories. The 2019 Annual Conference is taking place in Shanghai, China (May 7–10, 2019), celebrating the 20th anniversary of ISBER. The second Biospecimen Research Symposium is organized in Berlin (February 5–6, 2019), under the leadership of Prof. Michael Hummel and Dr. Cristina Villena, the partnership of the German Biobank Node, and the support of the BMBF. 1 ISBER continues to work alongside other major biobanking organizations to strengthen the efforts in the field around the globe, by consolidating a common message and impact. As such it is also supporting the “Adopt BBMRI-ERIC” Biobanking workshop in Latin America (January 15–17, 2019) and the International Biobanking Conference in Qatar (March 25–27, 2019), the latter organized by the European, Middle Eastern & African Society for Biopreservation and Biobanking (ESBB) in partnership with the Qatar Biobank.
For the past 6 months ISBER participated in a number of international conferences, raising the profile of the organization and promoting the significant work in the areas of best practices, education and training, and network fostering. The last few such meetings have included the Cancer Institute of NSW Biobank Conference in Sydney, Australia, in June 2018 2 ; the Cryobiology meeting in Madrid, Spain, in July 2018; the European Biobank Week in Antwerp, Belgium, and the 10th Asian Network Research Resource Centers in Seoul, South Korea, both held in September 2018; the International Conference on Genomics (ICG-13) in Shenzhen, China, in October 2018; the 16th Australasian Biospecimens Network Association, Melbourne Australia; the 2018 Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research meeting in San Diego, California, and the 2018 Annual Biobank China (ABC) meeting in Shenzhen, China, in November 2018; as well as the Third International Precision Medicine Convention (P4 China) in Beijing, China, in December 2018. 3 In addition, for the past 6 months there were presentations delivered by ISBER members in Regensburg, Germany; Hong Kong; Cleveland, Ohio; Moscow, Russia; and Wuhan, China. Discussions are ongoing for the continued participation of ISBER at a number of different conferences throughout 2019.
Including the Voice of Low- and Middle-Income Countries
Increasing the participation of members from low- and middle-income countries (LMICs) has been a key goal of ISBER. In late 2018, ISBER renewed and strengthened the partnership with the Biobanking and Cohort Network, established by the International Agency for Research on Cancer, a World Health Organization (WHO) agency. 4 As an organization, ISBER strives to be more inclusive and offers further opportunities for biobankers from LMICs, including attendance to conferences and web-based opportunities, such as webinars. To this end, there is a concerted effort to include LMIC voices throughout the sessions of the annual and regional ISBER meetings, as well as by providing a full scholarship to the annual conference each year impacting positively on the professional progression of the awardees and their respective biobank facilities. 5
Strengthening the Links with the Global Communities
In 2018, ISBER launched a major initiative with the creation of regional ambassadors. These are local representatives who will help to provide the directors-at-large and ISBER a more localized in-depth knowledge to reflect and represent the local issues and requirements in biobanking. The regional ambassadors will serve as contacts to provide focused local advice and feedback to ISBER and to help disseminate information about the society at local meetings and networking events. As ISBER's reach and support of biobanks around the world widens, this additional tier of volunteers will strengthen ISBER's local profile and create a platform for wider geographic consultation and input. 6 The first six regional ambassadors for China were presented during the ABC 2018 conference in Shenzhen, China; the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regional ambassadors will be announced in the beginning of 2019 and more will follow for the next months. The recent Regional Ambassador Program gives a great opportunity for ISBER members to give a voice to local issues and help shape the global society of the future.
The potential scope of involvement with ISBER activities for all of the ISBER members remains as wide and varied as the membership itself. Join us during the Annual Meeting in Shanghai (May 7–10, 2019) and the Regional Meeting in Minneapolis (November 4–5, 2019) and be part of this active and growing international community of biobank professionals.