Dear SIVB members, colleagues, post-docs and students,
I hope all of you had a wonderful holiday season and are off to a great and energizing start of 2024!
Appearing in the March issue of the In Vitro Report, this President Report signifies a year of our Society without Marietta Wheaton Saunders, who was the Managing Director of the SIVB for over 30 years. Moving forward without Marietta was, undoubtedly, one of the most difficult challenges that our organization has ever met. With tremendous support from past and current SIVB leadership, and the hard work of a dedicated team at Innovative Essentials headed by Michele G. Schultz, we are remaining committed to honor Marietta’s legacy, and see the SIVB grow and continue making an impact in the field of in vitro biology of both plants and animals, including humans.
The results of the SIVB election of officers (Board of Directors, Committee Chairs, and Section Officers) for the 2024-2026 term are in. I would like to thank all the candidates who agreed to participate in the SIVB’s Officers Election cycle for the 2024-2026 term in service of our Society. I am pleased to announce that the following individuals were elected for SIVB officer positions: Michael J. Fay (President Elect), Fredy Altpeter (Vice President), Mae Ciancio (Secretary), Barbara B. Donnan (Treasurer), Pon Samuel (Member-at-Large, PB), Vivian Dayeh (Member-at-Large, IVACS), Wayne Parrott (Chair, Public Policy Committee), Todd Jones (Chair, Awards Committee), Michael Kane (Chair, Constitution and Bylaws Committee), Brad L. Upham (Chair, Education Committee), and Addy Alt-Holland (Chair, Publication Committee). The elected section-specific officers are: Yiping Qi (PB Section Chair), Christopher Bagley (PB Section Vice Chair), Margaret Young (PB Secretary/Treasurer), Sarah Poytner (IVACS Section Chair), Zoe Zhu (IVACS Vice Chair Program), Anissa Belfetmi-Stone (IVACS Vice Chair Membership), and Jasmyn Hoeger (IVACS Secretary). Piero Barone will become SIVB President, and I will transition to the Past President role and the Chair of the Nominating Committee that will begin to prepare the list of candidates for the 2026-2028 Election Cycle, which will be held in the Fall of 2025. The transitions of the newly elected officers will occur at the Board of Directors meeting on Friday evening, June 7th, before the beginning of the Society’s 2024 World Congress on In Vitro Biology. I look forward to working with our new and continuing officers in support of the positive impact, growth, and sustainability of our Society. Importantly, I encourage the members who were not elected in this term to continue being engaged with and contribute to the activities and growth of SIVB, as well as to consider running again in the next Election Cycle!
The virtual Spring meeting of the SIVB Board of Directors was held on Saturday, March 2nd. The Board of Directors received and discussed reports from Kolla Kristjansdottir (2024 Program Committee), Barbara B. Doonan (Treasurer), Michael K. Dame (Development Committee and Fundraising), Dwight Tomes (Awards Committee), Michael J. Fay and Michele Schultz (Publications Committee), Allan Wenck (Nominating Committee), Vivian Dayeh and Michele Schultz (Membership Committee), Piero Barone (Long Range Planning Committee), Wayne Parrott (Public Policy Committee and PlantGENE Protocols update), and Brad L. Upham (Education Committee), as well as Babak Senfi and Prasanna Shekar (2024 Student Co-Chairs). As in previous Board of Directors meetings, many action items will have been completed since our last Board of Directors meeting in October 2023. However, it is likely that many new action items will emerge throughout these discussions. I encourage all our members to become involved in the countless educational, social, and leadership activities and possibilities that are an integral part of our Society. So, renew your SIVB membership, become a new member, and get involved! If you have an interest in serving our organization, please contact me during the World Congress or by e-mail. We need you!
The SIVB is returning to St. Louis, Missouri! Our 2024 World Congress on In Vitro Biology will be held at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at The Arch, between June 8 – 12, 2024. This waterfront hotel on the Mississippi River offers an amazing location with spectacular dining and sightseeing opportunities nearby! The conference, held once every 4 years at various international venues, includes a rich scientific program of symposia, workshops, contributed papers, oral presentation competitions, and poster sessions as well as student-led sessions to highlight the most recent advances in plant and animal biotechnology & genomics. Attendees will be able to meet again in-person, share their research and learn from others, and benefit from diverse networking opportunities, social events, and scientific tours throughout the meeting. One of the newest additions to the Program is the Lightning Talks sessions. Replacing the Interactive Poster sessions, the Lightning Talks sessions will invite selected abstract submitters to present their research in a short oral presentation format in addition to a complementary poster presentation. The World Congress also includes the 16th International Conference on Invertebrate and Fish Cell Culture that will be held on June 8th. This event will highlight recent advances in cell and tissue culture technologies and their applications in fish and invertebrate cell culture systems, and will honor pioneers in these research fields. We are honored to welcome Mark Settles, PhD, as the Keynote Speaker of the World Congress. Dr. Settles is Synthetic Biology Investigator at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) Ames Research Center, and Emeritus Professor at University of Florida, Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology Program and Horticultural Sciences Department. His lecture will focus on “Synthetic Biology to Support Human Exploration of Deep Space.” Whether your research focus is “Plant Biotechnology” or “Animal Cell Science,” this is an invaluable opportunity to realize the considerable challenges and innovative approaches for deep space missions by humans!
Exciting scientific events, terrific networking opportunities, multiple students and post-doc activities, and numerous possibilities to share your research are waiting for you at the 2024 World Congress of the SIVB. We invite you to renew your SIVB membership, register to the meeting, submit your scientific abstract, participate in the special educational and social events, and reserve your hotel room as part of the SIVB’s room block at the 2024 World Congress event. For up-to-date program updates, more information about the conference, and important deadlines, please check the meeting website, or contact the SIVB Business Office.
I look forward to meeting you at the 2024 World Congress on In Vitro Biology in St. Louis, MO!
Sincerely,
Addy Alt-Holland, PhD, MSc
SIVB President
