President’s Report

I am now writing my last President’s segment for In Vitro Report. It is hard to believe that two years have flown by so quickly. It is appropriate at this point to reflect back over the past two years for what the SIVB has accomplished and experienced.

The 2012 SIVB annual meeting was one of mixed emotions. The Seattle/Bellevue/Tacoma area has been very memorable to me in visiting this area countless times when I was younger and various times later in life. My favorite mountain is Mount Rainier (I climbed it back in 1979) and I was able to see it on this trip. The meeting program was exceptional and to have Dr. Lee Hood as the keynote speaker was very special. I appreciate help from my friend, Dr. Kai Wang, who is Lee’s long-time colleague going back to Cal Tech, for setting up the tour of the Institute for Systems Biology at the conclusion of this meeting. Also attending the 2012 annual meeting was Julie Borlaug, the granddaughter of Dr. Norman Borlaug where she spoke about the Borlaug Institute’s mission regarding sustainable agriculture and food security in various world regions. These were the highpoints; however, it was also somewhat of a heavy-hearted meeting for me, personally, because I knew that Mike Horn was not going to attend this meeting. I saw and spoke with Mike at the 2011 SIVB meeting in Raleigh, NC, and he was diagnosed with ALS shortly after this meeting. So much change in a matter of one year. Mike passed away on August 27, 2012. Out of respect and in remembrance, the SIVB established the Michael Horn Endowment Fund which will use donations to help with student involvement with the SIVB. Contact the SIVB if you wish to donate.

The 2013 SIVB in Providence, Rhode Island, was another fantastic meeting. My long-time friend, Dr. Steve Briggs, was the keynote speaker talking about one of my favorite topics—corn!

I thoroughly enjoyed this meeting and the city of Providence. The highlight of this meeting, for me, was the time we spent to remember Mike Horn and to have his wife, Tricia, present to receive the President’s Award given to her in Mike’s name. Angela, Mike and Tricia’s daughter, and her children were also present. I especially want to thank all those who helped with the organization of this tribute, particularly Jack Widholm, Jerry Ranch, John Finer, Bob Lawrence, Liz Roemer and Michele Schultz for photos from the archives. I will always remember the brilliant rainbow that broke through the cloudy skies at the exact time we began this tribute to Mike.

It is now 2014 and we are approaching the meeting in Savannah, Georgia, which will be a World Forum on Biology where the SIVB will partner with the Society for Cryobiology for this joint meeting. The keynote speaker is Dr. Pierre Comizzoli, a Research Scientist from Center for Species Survival at the Smithsonian National Zoological Park. His presentation is titled “Technology and Ecology Aspects of Genome Resource Banking”. Aside from the mixture of In Vitro and Cryobiology presentations, there will be two sessions on Genome Editing which is very timely because of the high interest in this area. I look forward to seeing all of you at this meeting and to meet some new friends through the Society for Cryobiology!

In closing, many of my closest friends are members of the SIVB. We laughed together in times of joy. We cried during times of sadness. You have been there when I needed help and lifted me up.

I hope, as your President, I have served each of you well.

Humbly and faithfully submitted,

David Songstad, SIVB President