Global Reach. Outsized Impact.

Leaning into the internationality of the ISSCR by hosting scientific programming around the world has been a priority for the Society for over 15 years. What started as partnering with other scientific societies and national stem cell organizations has continued to evolve as a vital strategic priority. International symposia developed as a way to broaden our ISSCR community and to come together around timely developments in the field. This focus remains a driving principle today providing even more opportunities to present research through posters and as abstract-selected speakers and enriching our scientific community worldwide.

Given the ISSCR rotates its hallmark annual meeting between North America, Europe, and Asia, the more intimate international symposia cater to communities of scientists geographically and scientifically offering opportunities to design focused programming, showcase emerging research, and build connections. In the past, the ISSCR has partnered with the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT), the American Society for Gene and Cell Therapy (ASGCT), the Society for Biomolecular Materials, the Society for Biochemical Engineering, the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), and countless national stem cell societies to create best-in-class opportunities for scientific exchange and spark potential collaborations across scientific disciplines.

Through our international symposia, we have held meetings in China, Israel, Argentina, Japan, Italy, South Korea, Switzerland, Brazil, the Netherlands, and many other countries with established or emerging stem cell communities. This year, we have two programs coming up in the last quarter of the year. One in Copenhagen, Denmark, “PSC-Derived Cell Therapies: Clinical Advances, NextGen Technologies, and the Path to Success” and the other in Singapore, “Stem Cells in Tissue Maintenance, Repair, and Aging.”  In 2025, the ISSCR is partnering with the Hellenic Pasteur Institute and our Society journal Stem Cell Reports on a program in Athens, Greece, and is planning two more symposia in Seattle and Boston, USA.

We embrace partnership and strive to reach parts of the world where we have not been before. So, where do you come in? Most ideas for international symposia topics and locations come from our enthusiastic members who have a passion for a particular area of research or for engaging the local community, paired with the desire to bring together scientists from diverse backgrounds and parts of the world around a theme. Our programs come from you, our ISSCR community.

Where do you want the ISSCR to go next? What area of scientific exploration should we design a program around?

I invite you to share your passion and ideas with us. Email your suggestions to me at isscr@isscr.org and get involved with shaping the scientific programming of your Society.

Amander