2022 Distinguished Service Awards

The SIVB is dependent on volunteers.  As President for the 2022 Distinguished Service Award it was my privilege to recognize certain activities that were seen as exceptional even within the already exceptional realm of our great members’ contributions.  These members were recognized at the 2022 meeting in San Diego, but I would like to further recognize them within the forum of In Vitro Reports.

As COVID continued to press – and even prior to COVID – there was a recognition that we should consider alternative forums for connecting throughout the year and not only at the annual meeting.  Ian Curtis approached me with the idea to start quarterly webinars that would rotate from PBS to IVACS as a place for active engagement and reconnecting throughout the year.  He spearheaded efforts to organize this project and we launched the first webinar from his efforts.  These were continued with the work of Rakhi Chaturvedi and Ahmad Omar.  Brad Upham took ownership of this forum within the education committee and has further utilized it to energize student engagement.  It is and was my pleasure to recognize all four of them for pushing this initiative forward from concept to practice.

Brad Upham

One concern that the Board has recognized is with our engagement – and recognition – on social media platforms.  As scientists and as leaders in our society as a whole, we must be active on such platforms.  We must proactively communicate on multiple channels and not just within the confines of our own website and meetings.  The public needs to hear fact-based information about science.  Further, scientists need to hear about the SIVB more broadly.  In order to address this, I proposed forming an adhoc committee on Social Engagement.  Chris Bagley was asked to lead this effort and I am thankful for his leadership.  He reached out to students and post docs Anissa Belfetmi and Sarbesh Das Dangol and formed an incredibly active committee that has renewed activities in our Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter accounts and has expanded our presence to Instagram.  They have been active in posting, sharing and resharing and have gotten more students and other members involved.  They have established a great pattern and have increased our impact in these forums.  I am happy to recognize their efforts and the continuing effort they are making with an expanded committee.

Sarbesh Das Dangol

We have been fortunate to be awarded grants to support our sessions and education efforts.  However, such grants are not awarded without great time and effort being made in their writing and submitting.  It is my privilege to have recognized Sadanand Dhekney for his successful efforts in securing support for our meeting.

Lastly, we have had a couple of years with great trials due to COVID and the need to respond. The SIVB was well served during this time by current board members, but also from outgoing members in particular Past President John Harbell, Secretary Sukhpreet Sandhu (as members of the Executive Committee) and member at large (who proactively lead efforts early in the COVID pandemic to plan and prepare) Kan Wang.

Kan Wang

As president, it has been my privilege and honor to be able to give out Distinguished Service Awards.  I appreciate all of the efforts that all members make to our society.  We need to continue to celebrate not only through the Distinguished Service Award forum but also through our interactions and conversations.  I ask all of you to thank not only these recipients, but all that keep our society running!

Submitted by Allan Wenck
SIVB Past President