It has been a great pleasure to talk this month with Ethics Committee Chair Kazuto Kato and Vice Chair Rosario Isasi – their work along with the committee members is critical to connect scientific advances in the stem cell field with implications for the public and society. Scientific advances require an ethical framework, and without that framework science cannot be done. Their passionate work is critical to properly guide science as well as for their capacity to consider what new ethical frameworks are necessary as research advances.  

While many of our committees produce visible outputs of their collective work that we highlight in our communications and at meetings, there are two in particular that are central to the Society that you may not know as much about. I confess I did not know the depth of their contributions until I joined the ISSCR Board of Directors. The work of the Finance Committee and the Strategic Oversight Committee underpin the framework for our Society, ensuring that we have the financial resources and the volunteer leadership talent to drive our mission forward.

Stem Cell Reports has celebrated more than 10 years of publishing impactful science and influential commentaries that shape the stem cell field. For this month’s message we hear from the new editor-in-chief Janet Rossant as she takes on the leadership of our Society publication. We also will learn more about the evolving work of the Scientific Programs Committee through the Chair Eran Meshorer and Vice Chair, Wei Xie.

This month we had the privilege to connect with the chair and vice chair of the Membership and International Outreach Committee (MIOC), Ole Pless and Athanasia D. Panopoulos and the chair and vice chair of the Early Career Advisory Committee Evan Graham and Alessandro Bertero. At the core of our Society are our members, our commitment to create an enriching environment for the next generation of scientists and to embrace the internationality of our community.

I am continuing the theme of using my monthly messages to highlight the contributions of ISSCR committees and the members who dedicate their time and talent to advancing the field and the mission of the Society. This month, I’ve had the privilege to talk with Melissa Carpenter and Tennielle Ludwig, the chair and vice chair of the Manufacturing, Clinical Trials, and Regulatory Committee (MCTR), and to learn more about the work of the Public Policy Committee, led by Sean Morrison. The contributions they are making address critical priorities of the ISSCR and reinforce why membership in the Society is so vital – it supports initiatives that ease pathways for research and clinical advances so they may thrive.