The Future Starts with Collaboration

Welcome to 2022, a new year that we hope will bring a new chance for us to come together. While for many of us this still seems problematic given the current situation, we will continue as a Society to facilitate your ability to continue to collaborate via our virtual programming, meetings, and social media. Indeed, the need to collaborate is more important than ever.

Outside my role as ISSCR President, I have had the privilege to announce the formation of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Stem Cell Medicine, also called reNEW, an international stem cell consortium that I will lead. reNEW represents an ambitious international collaboration focused on translating stem cell discoveries into therapies for patients with incurable disease. By building on the strengths of key research institutes in Denmark, Australia, and the Netherlands, this collaboration will drive new research programs and the sharing of facilities, resources, and people across institutions and continents.

Creating opportunities for collaboration is at the heart of the ISSCR — and is among the most powerful roles your society plays. We’ve seen it this week during the Shanghai International Symposia, where ISSCR joined ShanghaiTech University and Guangzhou Regenerative Medicine and Health Guangdong Laboratory to convene leaders and students the world over. And, we’ll see it again in the year ahead.

Among upcoming opportunities most ripe for new collaborations is the ISSCR Annual Meeting, the most comprehensive event in our field. This year, we’ll celebrate your society’s 20th Anniversary, and welcome attendees back in-person to San Francisco, whilst also ensuring an ability to participate for all of those who cannot physically attend. Registration is open for this meeting, so I would encourage you to attend either in person or virtually.

So, in the spirit of global collaboration and what’s next, I hope you’ll join us. Registration for the  ISSCR 2022 Annual Meeting opened just last week, and abstract submission remains open until 9 February.