International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories

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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 20–24, 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 ^[3][4][5] collections and repositories. The most current version of the ISBER Best Practices was published in (BIO), February 2018 issue.^[6][5]

Self-Assessment Tool (SAT)[]

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[]

External links[]

• Official website