William J. Smith

Dear Fellow Scientists,

As President of the Society for In Vitro Biology (SIVB), I am happy to invite you to become a member of this prestigious and well-storied Society. In 2011, we will celebrate our 65th Anniversary. The SIVB was started in 1946 as the Tissue Culture Commission. In 1949 the name was changed to the Tissue Culture Association (TCA) and in 1994 to the SIVB.

From its very beginning, the Society has been foremost an educational Society with mentors and students playing key roles. For many of us, it was our initial opportunity to present our first platform and poster presentation. For me, it was the professional meeting at which I first presented my dissertation research. We have always encouraged students and young professionals to become active members. We are the only major professional society that offers free registration to the Annual Meeting to students, and for those that do attend the meeting, one year's free membership with an internet subscription to one of the Society's journals. Students currently represent about one quarter of the registrants at annual meetings. The Society supports Science teachers through the National K-14 Scientific Educational Programs, and various high school community outreach projects. As part of a national effort to promote sciences in K-14, high school and junior college science teachers across the country have joined and formed a collaborative partnership to participate in SIVB educational programs and workshops.

Scientific education is further enhanced through our Public Policy Committee, Associate Membership with other Scientific Societies, such as the ASCB (American Institute of Biological Science), AAAS (American Association for the Advancement of Science), IAPB (International Association for Plant Biotechnology) and CAST (Council for Agricultural Science and Technology). The Society has two (2) official journals, In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology -Animal and In Vitro Cellular & Developmental Biology - Plant. Each Journal provides online peer-reviewed publications. The Plant journal also has joint issues with the IAPB.

In addition, the SIVB publishes the In Vitro Report, a quarterly publication of general society and member news. Many annual meetings are held in cooperation with other Societies, such as the ETCS (Europe), JTCA (Japan), JAACT (Japan), JSPCMB (Japan), and IAPB (International).

By organizing the Society into 2 broad sections, Plant Biotechnology and In Vitro Animal Cell Sciences (both vertebrate and invertebrate), we have the ease of structuring the annual meetings and journal articles to represent current trends and interests of the membership. Current trends have included biotechnology, molecular biology, cellular toxicology, 3-D tissue constructs, stem cells, neurobiology, regenerative medicine, cancer modeling, etc.

The Society continues to be a training ground for honing one's leadership skills through the opportunity for active meeting and committee participation. We are a very friendly Society where every voice can be heard. Through our Awards programs, we also recognize the achievements of both SIVB member and non-member scientists who have contributed to the advancement of science using in vitro technology.

For more information about the Society and to access an on-line membership application, visit the web site at http://www.sivb.org.

William J. Smith, SIVB President 2010-2012
william.j.smith3@us.army.mil