2022 Society for In Vitro Biology Meeting Welcomed Attendees to San Diego, CA
The Society for In Vitro Biology (SIVB) was delighted to welcome attendees back to an in-person meeting after two years of virtual meetings. Attendees were delighted to talk with old friends, share updates, and develop new networks with colleagues in academics, industry and government. The meeting was hosted on June 4 – 7, 2022, at the Town and Country Hotel in San Diego, CA. Attendees as well as those unable to attend in-person were given the opportunity to hear many of the sessions available in virtual format upon completion of the meeting. Special thanks to all the conveners, co-conveners, speakers, students, attendees and organizers of the meeting for making it a truly memorable event.
The meeting brought together leaders in academics and industry to share their latest research in emerging technologies, genome editing, genomics, organoids, synthetic biology, in vitro technologies, and other areas of interest. Dr. Thomas Hartung, a leader in the field of toxicology and alternative methods to animal testing, provided the Keynote address, “Advancing Cell Culture to Meet Scientific and Societal Needs” during the opening ceremony. He is the Director of the Center for Alternatives to Animal Testing (CAAT) and inaugural holder of the Doerenkamp-Zbinden Endowed Chair in Evidence-based Toxicology in the Department of Environmental Health Sciences at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health. Dr. Hartung was instrumental in accelerating the alternative methods validation process and facilitating a global regulatory harmonization in toxicity testing. His Keynote address highlighted his exemplary work and ongoing efforts to advance microphysiological systems as models for scientific discovery.
The meeting began with an evening panel discussion entitled, “Design of Experiments.” Each morning began with a plenary session, bringing together experts in the field for both plant and animal sciences to share their knowledge and advances. Plenary sessions included: “Advanced Application of Site-Directed Nucleases,” “Michael E. Horn Emerging Technologies Symposium on Future Foods”, and “Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning in Plant and Animal Sciences.” A joint symposium entitled “New Approaches to Vaccine Development” was organized to bridge the gap between the two disciplines.
The Plant Biotechnology section provided informative sessions on the basic scientific principles and applied aspects of micropropagation, plant conservation, genetic transformation, gene editing and cannabis biotechnology. In addition to a variety of submitted oral and poster presentations, several exciting symposia and workshops were organized that included: “Frontiers in Gene Editing for Crop Improvement, ” “Advances in Double Haploid Technology,” “Plant Growth Regulators,” “Alternative Approaches to Plastid Engineering,” “Advances in Cannabis Biotechnology,” “Model Systems for Developing Crispr/Cas Technology in Plants,” “Genetic Transformation and Regeneration of Recalcitrant Species: Challenges and the Way Forward,” and “In Vitro Technologies for Plant Conservation and Gene Banking.”
The In Vitro Animal and Cell Sciences section of SIVB offered many exciting sessions as well for the 2022 meeting. The sessions covered topics such as late-breaking research on extracellular matrix, cell imaging, organoid technology, and single cell analysis techniques. Symposia titles included: “Organoid Technology,” Extracellular Matrix and Tissue Engineering,” “Moving the Field Forward: Application of New Technologies in Academic, Industry and Regulatory Agencies,” “The Art and Science of Cell Imaging,” and “Single Cell Technology and Application in Biomedical Research.” Interactive poster and oral presentations enhanced the breadth of research exchanged.
In addition to evening workshops, the meeting hosted several events to foster student participation and professional development. Educational symposia, luncheons, and workshops were organized by the SIVB Education Committee and the student officers. The student workshop, “State-of-the-Art Cell Imaging Technologies” was well-received by the student attendees. Hands-on applications were provided to enhance learning and mastery of skills. The Student Networking Luncheon provided an opportunity for graduate students to learn effective research proposal and grant writing skills. Non-competitive as well as competitive poster and oral presentation sessions provided students with an opportunity to discuss their current research. Student awards were provided to students in recognition of their contribution to the field of in vitro biology. The following student awards were presented at the 2022 meeting. The Wilton R. Earle and SIVB Travel Awards to Dominic Dharwadker – University of Arkansas; the John S. Song Award to Gaurav Gajurel – Arkansas State University; the Honor B. Fell and SIVB Travel Awards to Jasmyn M. Hoeger – University of Dubuque and Tri-Vet Associates; Cellular Toxicology Award to Hansa Raj KC – Arkansas State University; the Hope E. Hopps and SIVB Travel Awards to Peter James Icalia Gann – University of Arkansas; the Joseph F. Morgan and SIVB Travel Awards to Katriana Van Woudenberg – University of the Fraser Valley; the Philip R. White Award to Eleanor Jane Brant – University of Florida; the Gordon Sato and Wally McKeehan Award to Heather Kelly – University of the Fraser Valley and Sepideh Mohammadhosseinpour – Arkansas State University; and the SIVB Travel Award to Mubeen ul Hasan – Nigde Omer Halisdemir University, Muneeb Hassan Hashmi – University of Siegen and Nigde Omer Halisdemir University, David May – University of Florida, and Keira Nakamura – University of California, San Francisco. SIVB is always striving to provide meaningful opportunities to promote and develop graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.
During the Opening Ceremony, Outstanding Achievement and Service Awards were presented in-person to members of the Society for 2020-2022. Shirley Pomponi, PhD, and Kan Wang, PhD, were awarded the 2022 Lifetime Achievement Award. Mae J. Ciancio, PhD, Maria M. Jenderek, PhD, Kolla Kristjansdottir, PhD, and J. Pon Samuel, PhD, were honored with the 2022 SIVB Fellow Award. The 2020 and 2021 Fellow Awards were given to Lucy E. J. Lee, PhD, Michael K. Dame, Addy Alt-Holland, PhD, Vivian Dayeh, PhD, and William Gordon-Kamm, PhD. Michael J. Fay, PhD and Fredy Altpeter, PhD, were awarded the 2020 Distinguished Scientist Award. Daysha Ferrer Torres, PhD, and Jessica Rupp, PhD were awarded the 2021 Early Career Award. Yiping Qi, PhD, was presented with the 2020 Young Scientist Award. The 2022 Distinguished Service Awards were granted to Christopher Bagley. PhD, Anissa Belfetmi, PhD, Rakhi Chaturvedi, PhD, Ian Scott Curtis, PhD, Sarbesh Das Dangol, PhD, Sadanand A. Dhekney, PhD, John W. Harbell, PhD, Ahmad Al-Sayed Omar, PhD, Sukhpreet Sandhu, PhD, Brad L. Upham, PhD, and Kan Wang, PhD. The 2020 Distinguished Service Awards were given to the following recipients: Barbara B. Doonan, PhD, John J. Finer, PhD, Sukhpreet Sandhu, PhD, Dwight T. Tomes, PhD, Brad L. Upham, PhD, Harold N. Trick, PhD, Kan Wang, PhD, and Allan R. Wenck, PhD. Distinguished Service Awards for 2021 included: Addy Alt-Holland, PhD, Pierluigi Barone, PhD, Raj Deepika Chauhan, PhD, Barbara B. Doonan, PhD, John W. Harbell, PhD, Evan M. Hill, Alperen Ozturk, Wayne A. Parrott, PhD, Kristina Martinez-Guryn, PhD, Angela Labrum, Max Jones, PhD, Annie Saltarikos, PhD, Sukhpreet Sandhu, PhD, Marietta Wheaton Saunders, Michele G. Schultz, and Brad L. Upham, PhD.
To accommodate attendees that could not meet in-person as well as provide additional opportunities for attending members to revisit sessions of interest, several of the presentations were recorded and provided on demand. A virtual poster gallery with pre-recorded audio description by authors was also available. The organizers of the meeting worked tirelessly to create an interactive meeting for those in attendance in-person as well as virtual.
The meeting ended with a relaxing social event at the Maritime Museum: Ships of the Seven Seas. It was a wonderful way to complete the meeting by enjoying friendship and the beauty of San Diego.
On behalf of the SIVB and the IVACS Program Chair (Dr. Kristina Martinez-Guryn, Midwestern University) and PBS Program Chair (Dr. Maxwell Jones, University of Guelph), I would like to thank our President Allan Wenck, the local organizing committee, and Marietta and Michele of New Beginnings Management, for all their efforts to make #SIVB2022 a meeting to remember!
Be sure to mark your calendars from June 10 – 14, 2023 for the 2023 SIVB Meeting in Norfolk, VA.
Submitted by
Mae Ciancio, 2022 Program Chair
