International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories
The International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER)[1] is a professional society of individuals and organizations involved in biospecimen banking.
Membership
Membership includes organizations and individuals from over 30 countries involved in long-term preservation and storage of animal, environmental, human, microorganism culture, museum, and plant/seed collections.
Members
ISBER has members from all around the world. Here are some of them:
Abbott Informatics United States Geographic Region: Americas
Accelerated Cure Project for MS United States Geographic Region: Americas
Administrator, Health Sciences Core Research Facilities United States Geographic Region: Americas
Albert Einstein College of Medicine United States Geographic Region: Americas
Alberta Cancer Research Biobank Canada Geographic Region: Americas
Analytical Biological Services, Inc (ABS) United States Geographic Region: Americas
Artel United States Geographic Region: Americas
Artificial Intelligence in Medicine Canada Geographic Region: Americas
Asterand Bioscience United States Geographic Region: Americas
Aurora Research Institute United States Geographic Region: Americas
AutoGen, Inc. United States Geographic Region: Americas
BC Cancer Agency Tumour Tissue Repository Canada Geographic Region: Americas
BC Children's Hospital Canada Geographic Region: Americas
Beaumont Health System United States Geographic Region: Americas
Biobank of the Repository Health Network of FRQS Canada Geographic Region: Americas
BioCision, LLC United States Geographic Region: Americas
BioFortis, Inc. United States Geographic Region: Americas
BioLife Solutions, Inc. United States Geographic Region: Americas
Biomatrica United States Geographic Region: Americas
BioRepository Resources, LLC United States Geographic Region: Americas
BioSero United States Geographic Region: Americas
BioStorage Technologies, Inc United States Geographic Region: Americas
BioTillion United States Geographic Region: Americas
Blood Systems Research Inst United States Geographic Region: Americas
Boston Children's Hospital United States Geographic Region: Americas
Brigham & Womens Hospital United States Geographic Region: Americas
Brooks Automation United States Geographic Region: Americas
Canadian Tissue Repository Network Canada Geographic Region: Americas
CGI United States Geographic Region: Americas
CHTN Eastern Division United States Geographic Region: Americas
CloudLIMS United States Geographic Region: Americas
Comprehensive Cancer Center-Univ. of Puerto Rico Geographic Region: Americas
Conversant Bio United States Geographic Region: Americas
Core Cryolab Inc Canada Geographic Region: Americas
Coriell Inst for Med Research United States Geographic Region: Americas
Cryogenic Control United States Geographic Region: Americas
Cryoport, Inc United States Geographic Region: Americas
CryoXtract Instruments United States Geographic Region: Americas
Cureline, Inc United States Geographic Region: Americas
Dataworks Development, Inc. (Freezerworks) United States Geographic Region: Americas
Department of Veterans Affairs United States Geographic Region: Americas
Diversified Laboratory Repair, Inc. United States Geographic Region: Americas
Duke University United States Geographic Region: Americas
Eastern Virginia Medical School United States Geographic Region: Americas
Eli Lilly and Company United States Geographic Region: Americas
Elpro Services Inc. United States Geographic Region: Americas
EMMC Cancer Care Biorepository United States Geographic Region: Americas
EPL Archives, Inc United States Geographic Region: Americas
Eversight United States Geographic Region: Americas
Farrar Scientific Corporation United States Geographic Region: Americas
The complete list is available over official website.
Meetings
ISBER holds one international meeting each year. Lectures, workshops, poster presentations, and working group discussions focus on technical issues and challenges such as quality assurance and control, regulations, human subject privacy and confidentiality issues, and provide information about sources of equipment and expertise.
ISBER Annual Meeting Locations[2]
- May 7-10, 2019 - Shanghai, China
- May 20-24, 2018 - Dallas, TX, USA
- May 9-12, 2017 - Toronto, ONT, Canada
- May 20โ24, 2014 - Orlando, FL, USA
- 2013 - Sydney, NSW, Australia
- 2012 - Vancouver, BC, Canada
- 2011 - Arlington, VA, USA
- 2010 - Rotterdam, SH, Netherlands
- 2009 - Portland, OR, USA
- 2008 - Bethesda, MD, USA
- 2007 - Singapore
- 2006 - Bethesda, MD, USA
- 2005 - Bellevue, WA, USA
- 2004 - New York, NY, USA
Best Practices
The ISBER Best Practices are periodically reviewed and revised to reflect advances in research and technology. The fourth edition (2018) of the Best Practices builds on the foundation established in the first, second, and third editions which were published in 2005, 2008, and 2012 respectively.
Current Best Practices
ISBER Best Practices: Recommendations for Repositories provides repository professionals with standardized guidelines for the management of biobank specimen[3][4][5] collections and repositories. The most current version of the ISBER Best Practices was published in Biopreservation and Biobanking (BIO), February 2018 issue.[6][5]
SAT Information
The tool contains 158 questions which may be answered in a single or multiple sessions. Each page of the survey corresponds to a section of the ISBER Best Practices. Results from pilot tests indicated that the SAT takes a little over an hour to complete if all required information is available at the time of completing the survey. The tool is free to ISBER members, and non-members may participate for a fee.
After completion of the SAT, a personalized e-mail is sent to the participant which includes a "risk-balanced assessment score" and notification of top deviation areas to help the participant evaluate how their current practices conform to the ISBER Best Practices. The score is based on possible risk to the specimens, frequency of implementation of each practice, and the ease with which deviations can be detected.
Biorepository Proficiency Testing Program
Developed in collaboration with the Integrated Biobank of Luxembourg (IBBL), the Biorepository Proficiency Testing Program is designed to allow biorepositories to assess the accuracy of their quality control assays and characterization of biospecimens. Participants can compare their results with those obtained in other laboratories and can identify testing issues that may be related to individual staff performance or calibration of instrumentation used in biospecimen quality control. The program provides guidance to biorepositories so they can take appropriate remedial action to be in compliance with ISO/IEC 17043:2010, providing a necessary External Quality Assessment tool for biorepositories who wish to seek accreditation (ISO 17025, CLIA or equivalent).[7]
References
- "ISBER". ISBER. 2014-01-23. Retrieved 2014-07-18.
- "ISBER Events". Retrieved 2020-12-14.
- Vaught, J. B.; Caboux, E.; Hainaut, P. (2010). "International Efforts to Develop Biospecimen Best Practices". Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention. 19 (4): 912โ5. doi:10.1158/1055-9965.EPI-10-0058. PMID 20233852.
- Hewitt, R. E. (2011). "Biobanking: The foundation of personalized medicine". Current Opinion in Oncology. 23 (1): 112โ119. doi:10.1097/CCO.0b013e32834161b8. PMID 21076300.
- "Best Practices For Repositories". ISBER. 2014-01-23. Retrieved 2014-07-18.
- Lori D. Campbell, Jonas J. Astrin, Yvonne DeSouza, Judith Giri, Ashokkumar A. Patel, Melissa Rawley-Payne, Amanda Rush, and Nicole Sieffert. Biopreservation and Biobanking.Feb 2018.3-6. http://doi.org/10.1089/bio.2018.0001
- "Why Proficiency Testing?". ISBER. Retrieved 2014-07-18.