MISSION STATEMENT

ISBER is a global organization which creates opportunities for sharing ideas and innovations in biobanking and harmonizes approaches to evolving challenges for biological and environmental repositories.

VISION

ISBER will be the leading global forum for promoting harmonized high quality standards, ethical principles, and innovation in the science and management of biorepositories.

“What we really need is a niche society just for specimen banking.” – 1999

Translation:

“Help! We all need to know a LOT more about setting up and properly running a specimen bank!”

A Great Idea Born out of Desperation

History of ISBER

1999 Initial Planning

Meeting

2000 ISBER Chartered

Newsletter Launched NCI Sponsored Meeting

2001 First Annual Meeting & Website Launched

ISBER a division of ASIP

“BIO” ISBER’s Official Journal

First Edition of Best Practices

Self-Assessment Tool

Proficiency Testing

2013 ISBER becomes

Independent Organization (501c3 Filed)

2014 Regional Charter Adopted

2018 ISBER Best Practices:

Fourth Edition

• Over 1,000 individual members & organizational sub-accounts

• Several Corporate Sponsors

• Proficiency Testing Program

• Open Forums

• Agreement with ASCP-BOC to develop qualification program

• Pre-Conference Technician

Workshop

• Best Practices Fourth Edition

• Self-Assessment Tool

• Official Journal: Biopreservation & Biobanking

• Host GBW with ESBB and BBMRI-ERIC

• Several Affiliate Agreements

Accomplishments

Who is ISBER Today?

• Membership spanning over 40 countries

• Members Include:

– Biobanking professionals

– Academic researchers and scientists

– Industry vendors and suppliers

– Government

Who is ISBER Today?

• Six biobanking categories

– Animal Specimen

– Human Specimen

– Microorganism Culture Collection

– Environmental Repository

– Museum Repository

– Plant/Seed Repository

Society Goals

• Disseminate information on repository management issues

• Educate and share information and tools within the society and with stakeholders

• Act as the voice for repositories to influence regulations and policy

• Develop best practice guidelines

• Provide centralized information about existing repositories

• Bring members together to work on emerging issues

Strategic Directions

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Strengthen Organization

Policy Influence

Advance the Science of Biobanking

Global and Sectoral Presence

Increase Awareness of ISBER

ISBER Standing Committees

• Executive Committee

• Finance Committee

• Nominating Committee

• Governance Committee

ISBER Advisory Committees

• Communications Committee

• Education & Training Committee

• Marketing Committee

• Member Relations Committee

• Organizing Committee

• Scientific Program Committee

• Science Policy Committee

• Standards Committee

ISBER Working Groups

The purpose of ISBER Working Groups is to identify and address important, unresolved biobanking issues that could benefit from broader discussion. The ultimate goal is to develop position papers, journal publications, or tools that address the issues and provide strategies for addressing them. • Biospecimen Science WG • Environmental-Biological WG • Informatics WG • International Repository Locator WG • Pharma WG • Rare Diseases WG • Regulatory and Ethics WG

ISBER Special Interest Groups

ISBER Special Interest Groups (SIGs) encourage discussions and presentations on the chosen area of technical, legal, ethical, or managerial issues relevant to repositories of biological and environmental specimens. ISBER SIGs identify and tackle important, unresolved issues that could benefit from broader discussion through networking and meetings where member presentations and experiences may be shared.

• Automated Repositories SIG

• Hospital-Integrated Biorepositories SIG

• Pediatric SIG

ISBER

The leading global forum that addresses key challenges relevant to biological and environmental repositories.

• Standardization

• Benchmarking

• Harmonization

ISBER Resources

Standardization – Best Practices for Repositories (Best Practices, Fourth Edition release January 31,

2018)

• Communicates most effective practices for the management of specimen collections and repositories.

• Reflects the collective experience of its members and has received broad input from other repository professionals

– Standard PREanalytical Code (SPREC)

• Track and assign explicit preanalytic variations in collection, preparation and storage of specimens.

Benchmarking – Self Assessment Tool (SAT) for repositories

• Evaluate adherence to ISBER Best Practices for repositories

– ISBER Proficiency Testing (PT) Program

• Assess the accuracy of quality control assays and characterization of biospecimens

Harmonization – ISBER Working Groups and ISBER Committees

Member Learning Tools & Resources

• ISBER Online Forums

• Membership Directory

• External Quality Assessment (EQA) Survey

• Publications (Best Practices, Newsletters, WG Publications)

• Option to subscribe to Biopreservation and

Biobanking (ISBER’S Official Journal)

• SPREC Calculator

• Free access to the Self-Assessment Tool

• Biobankingjobs.com (Job seekers and Employers

Membership Categories

Where do you fit? • Individual Membership

– No Journal, E-Journal, or E- and Printed Journal Access

• Organizational Membership – Small Organizational Membership (<11 employees)

– Medium Organizational Membership (11-50 employees)

– Large Organizational Membership (>50 employees)

Industry Engagement

• Corporate Sponsorship – Become an ISBER Corporate Sponsor and highlight

your products and services to the international specimen repository community

– New a-la-carte sponsorship allows you to create a customized sponsorship package tailored to your organization’s needs!

• ISBER Marketplace – The ultimate searchable, online product directory

for the biological and environmental specimen repository communities

ISBER Annual Meeting & Exhibits

The ISBER Annual Meeting is the premier event in the field of repository and specimen management.

• Collaborate and engage with biobanking colleagues

• Exhibit at the ISBER Annual Meeting to showcase your latest products, services, and technology.

How to Get Involved with ISBER

• Become an ISBER Member

• Join an ISBER Committee!

– Send your CV to info@isber.org

• Join an ISBER Special Interest Group or ISBER Working Group!

– Send your CV to info@isber.org

• Join open session WG and SIG meetings at the Annual Meeting!