2024 World Congress on In Vitro Biology Summary

2024 WORLD CONGRESS ON IN VITRO BIOLOGY WELCOMED ATTENDEES TO ST. LOUIS, MO

The Society for In Vitro Biology (SIVB) was delighted to welcome attendees back again to an in-person meeting, enjoying face-to-face interactions with old and new friends, sharing updates, and developing new networks with colleagues in academia, industry, and government. The 2024 World Congress on In Vitro Biology attracted the highest attendance SIVB has had over the last 24 years. The meeting was held on June 8 – 12, 2024, at the Hyatt Regency St. Louis at the Arch. It had multiple sessions covering diverse scientific topics that provided opportunities for attendees to learn advances with broad relevance across kingdoms of life. To accommodate attendees who could not meet in person as well as provide additional opportunities for attending members to revisit sessions of interest, some of the presentations were recorded and provided on demand. A virtual poster gallery with pre-recorded audio descriptions by authors and silent abstracts were also available. The meeting organizers worked tirelessly to create an interactive meeting for those in attendance in-person and virtual. Special thanks to all the sponsors, conveners, co-conveners, speakers, students, exhibitors, attendees, and organizers of the meeting for making it a truly memorable event.

The meeting brought together leaders in academia and industry as well as experts from the government agencies to share their latest research in emerging technologies, genome editing, synthetic biology, epigenomics, 3-D cell culture, biotechnology for sustainability, bioprocessing, in vitro technologies, breeding technologies, cryopreservation, and product development and other areas of interest. Dr. A. Mark Settles, a leader in synthetic biology research, plant and microbial genetics, and plant tissue culture, provided the Keynote address, “Synthetic Biology to Support Human Exploration of Deep Space”, during the opening ceremony. He is Synthetic Biology Investigator at the National Aeronautics and Space Administration Ames Research Center. His program at NASA focuses on the application of synthetic biology to deep space exploration and aeronautics.

Dr. Settles’s research focuses on the many signals and receptors that regulate the formation of blood vessels, which is important in understanding wound healing and several disorders such as heart disease, diabetes, and cancer. He is also an Emeritus Professor at the University of Florida, Plant Molecular and Cellular Biology program and Horticultural Sciences Department. Dr. Settles’s program at the University of Florida focused on genomics, maize seed development, environmental stress tolerance, and synthetic genes for biotechnology applications. His Keynote address highlighted his exemplary work with exciting new discoveries and ongoing efforts to advance research in synthetic biology to support human exploration of deep space.

Immediately prior to the meeting, the “16^th International Conference on Invertebrate and Fish Cell Culture” was held along with a PlantGENE workshop on “Mastering Plant Transformation”. A panel discussion bringing together the animal and plant sections of SIVB was also held titled: “The Culture Club: Unraveling the Complexities of Media Formulation”. Each day of the World Congress began with a plenary session, bringing experts in the field of both plant and animal sciences to share the knowledge and advances on various topics, including “Michael E. Horn Emerging Technologies Symposium: From Cells to Solutions: Unlocking the Secrets for 21^st Century Bioprocesses”, “F(e)ast Forward ⏩ Feeding Tomorrow”, “Advances in Epigenetics and Epitranscriptomics to Advance Crop Production and Human Health”, and “Risks and Benefits of Biotechnology and Anti-Microbials in Plant and Animal Production”. A joint symposium entitled “Templated Editing in Eukaryotic Systems for Gene Therapy and Agriculture” was organized to showcase progress and challenges of gene editing in therapeutics, plant, and animal applications.

The Plant Biotechnology Section of SIVB provided informative sessions covering a plethora of topics, from the basic scientific principles to the applied aspects of plant biotechnology, including gene editing, plant breeding technologies, 3D cell printing, plant transformation, and biomanufacturing. In addition to a variety of submitted oral and poster presentations, several exciting symposia and workshops were organized that included “Innovative Delivery Approaches for Transgene-Free Gene Editing”, “Saving Plant Diversity for Use by Future Generations”, “Integrating New Breeding Technologies and Traditional Approaches for Advancing Ornamental Crops”, “Biomanufacturing and Bioprocessing Cell Free Technologies”, “Combating climate change with gene editing and metabolic engineering of plants”, “Unlocking the Power of Synthetic Apomixis: A Paradigm Shift in Plant Breeding”, “Advances in Plant Transformation Methods to Accelerate Crop Improvement”, “Uncovering the power of 3D cell printing and its applications in Crop Science”, “Applications and Challenges of Gene Editing in Difficult and Non-Model Crops and Prospects in Food Security”, “Advancing Phytochemical and Nutritional Enhancement in Crops for Human Health through Plant Biotechnology” and “Advances in automation and lab designs to accelerate plant biotechnology research”.

The In Vitro Animal Cell Sciences Section of SIVB also offered many sessions covering exciting topics to reflect research advances and breakthroughs in “Cryopreservation and Biobanking: A bridge between in vitro and vivo”, “Developing synthetic materials to control natural biological processes”, “Emerging In vitro methods for Livestock Performance”, and “At the Forefront of host-pathogen interactions”. New this year were “Lightning talks”, which were immediately followed by poster sessions. These brief oral presentations provided an additional opportunity for the poster presenters to share their research and promote scientific exchange with the scientists in attendance.

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 committee. The student workshop, “Single Cell RNA Sequencing” introduced the basics of single cell sequencing and provided hands-on opportunities to analyze single cell RNAseq data. Another student workshop, “The Proper Use of English in Scientific Writing” provided an opportunity for students to learn skills to effectively communicate scientific discoveries using written language. The two workshops were both well-received by the student attendees. Student poster and oral presentation sessions as well as graduate student and post-doctoral competitive oral presentations, including the inaugural Bob V. Conger Plant Biotechnology Student Oral Presentation Competition, was held. These events provided students and young scientists with opportunities to discuss their current research with the SIVB community. 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 2024 meeting:

• The Wilton R. Earle and The SIVB Travel Awards to Trevor Bush – Worchester Polytechnic Institute.
• The John S. Song Award to Prashasti Pandey – Banaras Hindu University.
• The Honor B. Fell and The SIVB Travel Awards to Caitlin Nicolai – College of Osteopathic Medicine, Midwestern University.
• Cellular Toxicology Award to Gaurav Gajurel –Arkansas State University.
• The Hope E. Hopps and The SIVB Travel Awards to Xinya Lu – Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, Clemson University.
• The Joseph F. Morgan and The SIVB Travel Awards to Gregory Robinson – University of Lethbridge.
• The Philip R. White Award to Paula Perez Sanchez – Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University.
• The Gordon Sato and Wally McKeehan Award to Sophia Letcher –Department of Biomedical Engineering & Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture, Tufts University and Shayne Oberhoffner – Department of Biology, Wilfrid Laurier University.
• The SIVB Travel Award to Arcadio Garcia – IBMCP-CSIC; Xiatong Chen – Clemson University; Zhaohui Chen – Clemson University; Greg Luis Connelly – Saint Leo University; Brandon T. Groff – Midwestern University; Nicholas Jadaa – Wilfrid Laurier University; and Isabel Candelaria Velásquez de la Cruz – UNAM;
• The inaugural Marietta Wheaton Saunders Award – Javier Dalmendray – University of Florida
• The Wilton R. Earle and The SIVB Travel Awards to Trevor Bush – Worchester Polytechnic Institute.
• The John S. Song Award to Prashasti Pandey – Banaras Hindu University.
• The Honor B. Fell and The SIVB Travel Awards to Caitlin Nicolai – College of Osteopathic Medicine, Midwestern University.
• Cellular Toxicology Award to Gaurav Gajurel –Arkansas State University.
• The Hope E. Hopps and The SIVB Travel Awards to Xinya Lu – Department of Biochemistry and Genetics, Clemson University.
• The Joseph F. Morgan and The SIVB Travel Awards to Gregory Robinson – University of Lethbridge.
• The Philip R. White Award to Paula Perez Sanchez – Department of Biological Sciences, Arkansas State University.
• The Gordon Sato and Wally McKeehan Award to Sophia Letcher –Department of Biomedical Engineering & Tufts University Center for Cellular Agriculture, Tufts University and Shayne Oberhoffner – Department of Biology, Wilfrid Laurier University.
• The SIVB Travel Award to Arcadio Garcia – IBMCP-CSIC; Xiatong Chen – Clemson University; Zhaohui Chen – Clemson University; Greg Luis Connelly – Saint Leo University; Brandon T. Groff – Midwestern University; Nicholas Jadaa – Wilfrid Laurier University; and Isabel Candelaria Velásquez de la Cruz – UNAM;
• The inaugural Marietta Wheaton Saunders Award – Javier Dalmendray – University of Florida

SIVB is always striving to provide meaningful opportunities to promote and develop graduate students and post-doctoral fellows.

Submitted by:

Kolla Kristjansdottir, 2024 Program Chair
Ahmad Omar, 2024 PB Program Chair
Kenneth Kandaras, 2024 IVACS Program Chair