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The highest honor given by the Society for In Vitro Biology is the Lifetime Achievement Award. It is presented to scientists who are considered pioneers or highly influential researchers to the science and art of cell culture. They are men and women who have devoted their careers to exemplary research and/or teaching. The recipients of the Lifetime Achievement Award are selected by vote of the Board of Directors from a list of nominations received and recommendation by the Awards Committee. The Society for In Vitro Biology honored Christopher J. Bayne,Glenn B. Collins, Toyoki Kozai, and Masayoshi Namba with SIVB Lifetime Achievement Awards at the 2009 In Vitro Biology Meeting. In this issue, we are honoring Christopher Bayne and Masayoshi Namba.

Dr. Christopher J. Bayne received the Society for In Vitro Biology Lifetime Achievement Award at the Society’s 2009 annual meeting in Charleston, SC. Dr. Bayne has made major contributions to the fields of Comparative Immunology and Parasitology during his career which has spanned over 40 years. Christopher Bayne received his B.Sc. and Ph.D. degrees from the University of Wales. He then performed Post-Doctoral Fellowships at the Marine Science Laboratories, Menai Bridge, Anglesey (Wales, U.K.), and at the University of Michigan. At Oregon State University he has rose through the ranks form Assistant Professor (1971-76) to Associate Professor (1976-82), and Professor (1982 - present). He has also served as both the Assistant Chairman (1979-80) and the Chairman (1986-1989) of the Zoology Department at Oregon State University. Throughout his career he has also been a Visiting Investigator/Scientist at a number of Institutions including: National Museum of Natural History (Washington, DC); Academy of Natural Sciences of Philadelphia; University of California (San Francisco, CA); Institute for Marine Environmental Research (Plymouth, England); Department of Microbiology, University of Stockholm; Department of Morphology, Medical University, Tromso, Norway; Department of Cell Biology, Agricultural University, Wageningen, The Netherlands; Department of Zoology, University of Aberdeen, Scotland; Department of Biology & Biochemistry, Bath University, England; and the Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, Salisbury Cove, ME.

Dr. Bayne is a comparative immunologist who specializes in the innate immune responses of vertebrate and invertebrate species especially fish and molluscs. He is a firm believer of in vitro models to elucidate mechanisms of parasite infectivity and host cell responses, and has been involved in the development of fish and invertebrate cell culture models for over 40 years. He is committed to combating Schistosomiasis, a parasitic disease that affects millions of people in tropical countries worldwide, and he pioneered the use of snail cell cultures to study this disease. He developed in vitro approaches to explore compatibility between larval, digenetic trematodes, such as Schistosoma mansoni, and their molluscan hosts, exemplified by Biomphalaria glabrata. Dr. Bayne figured out how to take in vitro transformed sporocysts of S. mansoni and culture them with hemocytes and/or plasma from the snail, to monitor whether the sporocytes were killed, or spared by contact with hemocytes. This work not only highlighted the central role of hemocytes in molluscan defense from trematode sporocysts, but also indicated that plasma factors could provoke hemocytes to a killing state. Dr. Bayne went on to develop and perfect the in vitro model system to study the entire complex program of intramolluscan development of S. mansoni. He is the only investigator ever to put a primary sporocyst in culture, successfully have the primary sporocyst produce secondary sporocysts, and then succeed in having the secondary sporocyst produce cercariae. Dr. Bayne is responsible for depositing the only aquatic invertebrate cell line, BGE from the snail Biomphalaria glabrata to the American Type Culture Collection (ATCC). This cell line was crucial for Dr. Bayne’s studies on the intramolluscan development of the human parasite Schistosoma mansoni, and has also been instrumental to the research efforts of many investigators around the globe. Dr. Bayne’s research accomplishments are exemplified by his scientific publications which number over 120 papers, and include publications in highly regarded scientific journals such as the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences (Ivanchenko et al., 1999, PNAS 96, 4965 – 4970 and Forest et al., 2007, PNAS 104, 1224 – 1229). Many of his publications have been cited over 50 times (his h-index is 30). Dr. Bayne’s internationally recognized research program has been supported by significant grant funding from the NIH, NSF, USDA, World Health Organization, and the MacArthur Foundation.

Dr. Christopher Bayne has also made significant contributions to in vitro biology through his service, teaching, and mentoring activities. Although, not an active member of the SIVB, Dr. Bayne was a member of the former Tissue Culture Association and he was active in the early 1990’s in Marine invertebrate cell culture work, participating in the TCA’s Marine Invertebrate Cell Culture Workshop in Anahaeim, CA in 1991. Professor Bayne served as the President of the International Society of Developmental and Comparative Immunology (ISDCI) from 1997 to 2000, and he organized a very successful meeting for this Society in Portland Oregon in 1991. He was also a Co-organizer of a workshop on Cell and Tissue Culture of Helminths: Molecular Helminthology: An integrated Approach in Tamarron, CO in 1993. Dr. Bayne has also made significant contributions through his editorial service activities. He has served as the managing editor (1969-1970) and general editor (1970-1975) for MALACOLOGIA, and as the Consulting Editor and Editorial Associate for MALACOLOGICAL REVIEW (1970-1986). He also served as the Regional Editor (1982-1987), on the Editorial Advisory Board (1987-1990, 1993-1996), and as an Associate Editor (1989-1993, 1996-present) for the journal Developmental and Comparative Immunology. Dr. Bayne has also served on the editorial board of a number of journals including: Journal of Experimental Zoology (1969-1999); Journal of Invertebrate Pathology (1979-1982); and Journal of Medical and Applied Malacology (1991-present). Professor Bayne has made a significant impact on the students at Oregon State University through his numerous teaching and course development activities. He has also taught and mentored many undergraduate and graduate students including: 20 graduate students, 6 postdoctoral fellows, and 22 visiting scientists.

Dr Christopher Bayne has received a number of prestigious Awards and Honors throughout his career. These Awards and Honors include: Fellow, American-Scandanavian Foundation (1976-present); Fulbright Senior Research Fellowship, The Netherlands (1984-85); Elected Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (1997); and Fogarty Senior International Research Fellowship, Kyushu University, Japan (2000-2004). Dr. Bayne is currently Professor Emeritus at Oregon State University, and although he retired from academia in 2002, he is still very active in research and is the recipient of a new NIH grant. It is befitting that Dr. Christopher Bayne is a recipient of the 2009 Society for In Vitro Biology Lifetime Achievement Award based upon the major contributions he has made to in vitro biology through his research, teaching, mentoring and service activities.

Information provided by Lucy Lee, David Barnes, Edwin Cooper, Eric Loker, and Lena Gerwick

The Society for In Vitro Biology (SIVB) 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award was presented to Professor Masayoshi Namba, MD, PhD, Emeritus Professor, Okayama University, President Okayama Medical Foundation, Okayama University Medical School and President Niimi College, and recognized international scientist in the fields of in vitro biology and carcinogenesis.

Dr. Namba is well known nationally and internationally for his pioneering efforts in the development of cellular and molecular biological studies, supporting the fields of basic and clinical biomedical technology. He received a Medical Doctorate degree, Okayama University Medical School, and Ph.D. Okayama University, Okayama, Japan, completed an internship at Kurashiki Central Hospital, Okayama, Japan and is Board Certified by the Japanese National 32nd Medical Examination.

Professor Namba credits much of his pioneering research and scientific success in cellular transformation, human cell line immortalization and mechanisms of carcinogenesis to his mentors, Drs. Hajim Katsuta and Leonard Hayflick. Dr. Katsuta, was Japan’s leading cell culturist until his retirement in 1978, and the first President of the Japanese Tissue Culture Association (JTCA). Dr. Hayflick is a noted pioneer in cell biology, virus vaccine development and establishment of the immortalized WI38 normal human cell line used throughout the world for vaccine production.

During the time that Dr. Namba was a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Hayflick’s Stanford University Laboratory, he developed his interest and pioneering in vitro research based on Dr. Hayflick’s finding that there were two classes of cultured cells, i.e., normal mortal cells and abnormal immortal cancer cells. Through this scientific collegial interaction, Dr. Namba is credited with the first in vitro demonstration to transform and immortalize normal human cultured cells. This recognition was highlighted in having photographs of his cells on the 1985 (volume 9) front cover of Carcinogenesis. Drs. Namba and Hayflick have remained colleagues and friends for over 36 years.

Dr. Namba has divided his lifetime work into three (3) stages. Stage 1: determining the functions of normal liver cells in culture; transformation of rat liver cells with chemical carcinogens; establishing the first human hepatoma cell line HLE; and establishing OUMS-29, a human liver cell line with CYP enzyme activities. Stage 2: the transformation and immortalization of normal human cells SUSM-1 and OUMS-24 with the carcinogen 4NQO, and KMST-6 with Co-60 radiation. Stage 3: the identification and relationship of S100C protein with contact inhibition of normal human fibroblasts;

loss of S100C nuclear localization in immortalized human fibroblasts; down regulation of REIC gene in human immortalized cells and human tumor-derived cell lines; and Ad-REIC suppression of PC3 tumor growth in nude mice.

During his entire career, Dr. Namba has maintained an active research laboratory that has produced significant cell culture and cancer research. He has been recognized, not only for his successful scientific and clinical applications, but by his willingness to recognize and mentor others in his laboratories that have supported this work. He is a “gifted teacher with the ability to recognize those with potential for success and leadership and then impart that gift to his students both in Japan and the USA.” This accolade is evident in the number of colleagues, former students and post-doctoral fellows who sent letters of recommendation and congratulations for Professor Namba.

Dr. Peter W. Andrews, Professor, The Centre for Stem Cell Biology, University of Sheffield, UK; Professor Masayoshi Namba, Emeritus Professor and President Niimi College and Okayama Medical Foundation; Dr. Steve Oh, Stem Cell Group, Bioprocessing Technology Institute, Singapore, China; Dr. Miho Furue, Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology & Oral Health Research Center, Kanagawa Dental College, Japan; Dr. Sandra Schneider, Research & Clinical Laboratory Systems, San Antonio, TX; Dr. Leonard Hayflick, Professor of Anatomy, University of California, San Francisco, School of Medicine; and Dr. Tetsuji Okamoto, Professor & Dean, Hiroshima University, Japan

An active member of the Tissue Culture Association (TCA)/SIVB since 1977 and member of the Japanese Tissue Culture Association (JTCA) since the early 70’s, Professor Namba has held positions in both Societies to include JCTA President from 1996-2006 and member of the SIVB Scientific Advisory Board 2000-2006. As JTCA President, Dr. Namba led and actively engaged senior and junior Japanese scientists of the JTCA, Japanese Association for Animal Cell Technology (JAACT), as well as the Japanese Plant Tissue Culture Society to participate in the planning and development of the 2000 World Congress scientific plenary sessions and workshops. This World Congress became a most successful global scientific venture and re-initiation of the international partnership between the SIVB and Japanese tissue culture societies. To date the JTCA and JAACT are active members and participants of the SIVB programs, sharing international science and technology.

Dr. Namba has a prolific academic record with over 400 publications. He has served on a number of editorial boards to include: International Journal of Cancer, Tissue Culture Research Communications, Experimental Gerontology and Animal Testing and Experimentation. During his career, Professor Namba served in numerous professional positions to include: Council for the Japanese Cancer Association, Japan Society for Biomedical Gerontology, Japan Society of Cell Biology and Japanese Association for Animal Cell Technology (JAACT); and Trustee for the Japanese Society of Alternatives to Animal Experiments, Japan Human Cell Society.

Dr. Tetsuji Okamoto, Professor and Dean, Graduate School of Medicine, Dentistry & Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hiroshima University and President of the Japanese Tissue Culture Association (JTCA), presented the award acceptance on behalf of Professor Namba.

The SIVB recognition of Dr. Masayoshi Namba, for the 2009 Lifetime Achievement Award, is a token of the Society’s appreciation and deepest respect for his pioneering spirit, leadership, and contributions to the historical cellular and molecular biology development in the field of in vitro biology.