Congratulations to the ISBER 2025 Award Recipients
Thursday, April 3, 2025
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Posted by: ISBER Head Office
ISBER is pleased to announce the 2025 Award Recipients! Join us in congratulating the award recipients below.
ISBER 2025 Outstanding Achievement in Biobanking
- Jajah Fachiroh - |
| Sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific |
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Jajah Fachiroh
This award is sponsored by Thermo Fisher Scientific.
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Jajah is ISBER IPR ambassador for Indonesia. Currently, she is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Histology and Cell Biology at FK-KMK UGM (since 2010) and a WHO-SEARO GCLP facilitator (since 2014). She has been involved in biobank
development since 2015, leading the UGM Biobank team and supporting its official launch in 2018. In collaboration with institutions across Indonesia, she contributed to establishing the Biobank for Health Research Network in 2015, focusing
on education and advocacy to support biobank development, with UGM Biobank playing a key role. From 2022 to 2024, she served as a technical advisor for the Ministry of Health Indonesia’s BGSi Biobank initiative and is currently assisting
with biobank development at UGM Academic Hospital. |
Note from the ISBER Nominating Committee: It’s our pleasure to announce that Dr. Jajah Fachiroh has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 ISBER Outstanding Achievement in Biobanking Award. This award honors her groundbreaking contributions
to advancing biobanking practices in Indonesia and her exemplary dedication to promoting high-quality, standardized biobanking in low- and middle-income countries. Dr. Fachiroh has been instrumental in establishing biobanking best practices
in Indonesia through education and promotion that leverage the expertise from ISBER and other global initiatives. She has influenced the development of the national biobanking framework in Indonesia. Through her leadership as ISBER’s Regional
Ambassador for the Indo-Pacific Rim, she has become an invaluable resource and guiding light for the biobanking community in Indonesia and beyond. This well-deserved recognition celebrates Dr. Fachiroh’s commitment, influence, and tireless
efforts in shaping the future of biobanking globally. Congratulations to Dr. Fachiroh for this outstanding achievement!
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ISBER 2025 Leadership Award
- Helen Morrin - |
| Sponsored by MVE Biological Solutions |
| Helen Morrin serves as the curator of Otago University’s He Taonga Tapu Cancer Society Tissue Bank (HTTCSTB) in Aotearoa New Zealand (NZ). She has a strong background in diagnostic pathology and cancer research and has been involved in biobanking
since 2000. Through developing the HTTCSTB she has shaped the regulatory biobanking landscape in New Zealand (NZ biobanking-related acts, guidelines and standards), and steered the HTTCSTB through major earthquake swarms from 2010 to 2013
subsequently contributing significantly to biobanking disaster preparedness and emergency planning knowledge. Her special interests are ethics, legislation and societal implications, impacting biobanking and human specimen research. Her
dedication to promoting ethical and culturally sensitive biobanking practices is evident both in her professional pursuits and as a member of her university’s IRB(Health). Helen’s numerous publications, and contributions to global conferences
highlight her unwavering commitment to advancing scientific research with integrity and excellence. |
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Helen Morrin
This award is sponsored
by MVE Biological Solutions
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| Note from the ISBER Nominating Committee: We are pleased to recognize Helen Morrin, who has been selected as the recipient of the 2025 ISBER Leadership Award. Helen has been an active ISBER member since 2007 and, in that time, she has worked
tirelessly to further the goals of the ISBER. She was an inaugural member and the Past-Chair of the Science Policy Community of Practice and has special interests in ethics, legislation, cultural, and societal issues, impacting biobanking
and human specimen research. Helen was previously awarded the ISBER Special Service Award in 2023. She is a past executive member of the Australasian Biospecimens Network Association (ABNA) and she has forged a leading role working with
indigenous populations and championing culturally responsive biobanking. Congratulations to Helen! |
| ISBER 2025 Special Service Awards |
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Note from the ISBER President: Eight ISBER members have been selected as recipients of the prestigious ISBER Special Service Awards in 2025 as follows: Engela Helena Conradie, Hengjun Gao, Debra Leiolani Garcia, Cassandra Griffin, Gregory
Grossman, Wayne Ng, Stella Somiari, and Zhiquan Shu. These awardees are from all over the world, covering four regions (Americas, EMEA, Indo-Pacific, China) of the entire ISBER community. They have played pivotal roles and provided
outstanding leadership in ISBER as well as regional and global biobanking initiatives, events, publications, and conferences. They have also made distinguished contributions to advancing education in biobanking science and practice,
promoting biobank-driven research, fostering collaboration across disciplines and regions, and ensuring that biorepositories continue to serve as vital assets in scientific, medical, agricultural, industrial discovery and development
worldwide.
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Engela Conradie
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Dr. Engela Helena Conradie is a Professional Chemist with a PhD in Environmental Science and Management, currently specializing in biobanking and quality management. She is the Quality Assurance and Biobank Manager at North-West University’s
Centre for Human Metabolomics. Previously, she worked as a Compliance Officer and HPLC technical signatory at a SANAS-accredited pharmaceutical lab.
Passionate about rare disease advocacy, she played a key role in establishing South
Africa’s first rare disease biobank in 2019 and continues to champion biobanking initiatives across Africa. Elected as ISBER’s Director-at-Large (DAL) for Europe, the Middle East, and Africa in 2022 and again for a second term in 2025,
she contributes to various ISBER committees and leads efforts to strengthen biobank networks and research visibility in underrepresented regions. |
She also helped establish the Medical Biorepositories of South Africa (MBirSA) and was appointed DSI Medical Biobanks Cluster Coordinator in 2022, developing a business plan for a national biobank network. In 2025, she is leading the organization
of a joint biobanking conference in South Africa in collaboration with ISBER, GGBN, MBirSA, BBSA, and SANBI.
Through her leadership in ISBER, MBirSA, and international biobanking initiatives, Dr. Conradie remains committed to advancing
biobank-driven research, fostering collaboration, and enhancing capacity-building efforts in Africa and beyond.
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| Hengjun Gao, M.D, Ph.D. studied under the guidance of Professor Shudong Xiao, a distinguished gastroenterologist at the Shanghai Jiaotong University School of Medicine in 1998. He pioneered and participated establishing the National Engineering
Center for Biochip at Shanghai, one of the representative units in the field of omics with a total investment of 290 million RMB by the National Development and Reform Commission since 2001. Dr. Gao was awarded the effective candidate
of academician of Chinese Academy of Engineering in 2019 and 2023. Under his leadership, lot of pioneering work has been done in the standardization of biobank and the new paradigm of clinical translation engineering CBDTM in China. The
closed-loop channel of rapid transformation research and industrialization from "Demand" to "Biospecimen" to "Data Product" to "Product" and then to "Commodity" has been successfully proved. Professor Gao was awarded the Tan Jiazhen Life
Science Award, China Biobank Outstanding Contribution Award, National Translational Medicine Innovation Award and 2024 Shanghai First Outstanding Talents. |
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Hengjun Gao |
Dr. Gao holds several prestigious positions, including the director of the National Engineering Center for Biochip at Shanghai, the director of the Shanghai Center for Molecular Medicine, and the director of Data Innovation Center for Major
Disease of Shanghai Data Exchange. He is also a professor, chief physician, and doctoral supervisor at the Tongji University etc. At the same time, Dr. Gao is the Chairman of the National Technical Committee on Bio-specimen of Standardization
Administration of China (SAC/TC 559), Chairman of the Biobank Branch China Medicinal Biotech Association (BBCMBA), Chairman of the Tumor Sample Integration Research Branch and the Industry-Academia-Research Translational Medicine Branch
of the Chinese Anti-Cancer Association, and President of the Chinese Biobank Alliance.
Dr. Gao emphasizes international cooperation and exchange and has made great contributions in the international biobank field, such as organized
hundreds of Chinese delegates to attend ISBER meetings, served as the Co-Chair of The World Cryobiology and Biobanking Conference (CRYO 2017) in Hefei and 2019 ISBER annual conference in Shanghai, organized ISBER Interlaboratory Quality
Control Assessment in China, translation and Chief Editor of ISBER Best Practices (Chinese Edition) 2012/2018/2024, ISO Co-Convener Organization: As a co-convener unit (NECB), he led the development of the international standard for biobanks
and biological resources, ISO 20387:2019. |
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Debra Leiolani Garcia
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Ms. Debra Leiolani Garcia has been working in the field of biobanking for over 25 years. She earned her B.S. in Microbiology from San Francisco State University and an M.P.A. in Public Administration from University of California, Berkeley.
She served as the Operations Director of the NCI funded Central Operations and Data Coordinating Center (CODCC) of the AIDS and Cancer Specimen Resource (ACSR), a multi-site biobanking program which included 5 U.S. academic biobanks and
1 biobank located in South Africa. She has been an active member of the International Society for Biological and Environmental Repositories (ISBER) since 2000 serving in the president’s group for 3 years along with serving as the chair
of the Rising Stars: Next Generation Biobankers; co-chair of the Biobank Awareness Task Force and Biobanking 101 and 201 workshops. She currently is working as an advisor training on biorepository operational management, regulatory and
ethical practices, and integration of biobanking best practices focused on the standardization and harmonization of protocols and procedures in the Southeast Asia region. She is a co-author of 22 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters
in biobanking operational and regulatory management. She is also co-chairing Global Biobanking Week, which will be announced soon. |
| Cassandra is the Biobanking and Clinical Research Manager for NSW Regional Biospecimen Services at the University of Newcastle, Australia. A fully cost-recovered biobanking platform, Cass and her team work to support clinical trials, cooperative
group research and discovery science with collaboration from university, government and industry partners. With a background in oncology clinical trials and international medical communications, Cass has a keen interest in biobanking partnerships
and also serves as the Co-Director of the Cancer Detection and Therapy Research Program at Hunter Medical Research Institute. Cass is especially interested in post-mortem brain biobanking, particularly the psychosocial impact for donors
and their loved ones publishing extensively and currently completing a PhD in this area. Cass is a Past Vice-President and Past President of the Australasian Biospecimen Network Association (ABNA) and an active member of ISBER, having
previously served on numerous task forces and working groups as well as, Co-Chairing the 2024 Annual Meeting, serving on the Education and Training Community of Practice Committee and co-chairing Global Biobanking Week, which will be announced
soon.
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Cassandra Griffin |
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Gregory Grossman
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Dr. Gregory Grossman is a life science executive and currently serves as the Chief Scientific Officer at Advancing Sight Network, as well as the Executive Director of the Precision Ocular Biobank. He is an Adjunct Professor of Ophthalmology
at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Heersink School of Medicine and serves on Scientific, Medical and Bioeconomic boards. Dr. Grossman received his biomedical PhD with honors in neuroscience from Kent State University and completed
a post-doctoral fellowship in retinal disorders at the Cleveland Clinic. He has more than 20 years of clinical and research experience, including regulatory expertise (FDA, USDA, DEA and EBAA), and holds certifications in eye banking (CEBT),
conducting clinical trials (CCRP), medical affairs (BCMAS), and green laboratory operations (My Green Lab). Dr. Grossman excels at strategic planning with a goal of organizational excellence and embraces cutting-edge technology, which
includes his partnerships in AI, blockchain, tissue 3D bioprinting and platforms to leverage biobanking data. |
| Dr. Grossman’s ISBER volunteer work has been incredibly rewarding, and he is currently the President-Elect of the ISBER Board of Directors. He was the co-chair of the 2024 ISBER Annual Meeting in Melbourne, served as Associate Editor of the
ISBER Best Practices 5th Edition, is the co-lead of the AI and Advanced Technologies Taskforce, and has been a member of the Webinar Planning and Product Development Taskforces, as well as serving on the Communications and Scientific Planning
Committees.
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Dr. Wayne Ng is a dedicated leader and advocate in the field of biobanking, currently serving as the General Manager for the Victorian Cancer Biobank. A committed member of ISBER since 2018, Dr. Ng has made significant contributions to the
organization, particularly in fostering engagement and collaboration across the Indo-Pacific Rim (IPR) region.
As Director-at-Large for the IPR region and an ISBER Board Member, Dr. Ng has played a pivotal role in strengthening ISBER’s
global presence. He currently chairs the Regional Ambassador Program for IPR, fostering connections between biobanking professionals and enhancing regional representation within ISBER. His leadership extended further as the Chair of the
ISBER Local Engagement Taskforce, where he is instrumental in supporting the organization of the ISBER Annual Meeting 2024 in Melbourne. |
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Wayne Ng |
Dr. Ng's commitment to ISBER is evident in his active participation in multiple committees, including the Nominations Committee, Governance Committee, and Future Conference Taskforce. Additionally, he participated in the Program Taskforce
and co-chaired the plenary symposium at the 2023 ISBER Annual Meeting in Seattle.
With his unwavering dedication, strategic leadership, and passion for advancing biobanking, Dr. Ng exemplifies the spirit of service that the ISBER
Special Service Award recognizes. |
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Stella Somiari
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Dr. Stella Somiari has been an active member of ISBER since 2005 and a pioneer member of the Education & Training Committee. She served as Associate Editor and contributor to the 2nd and 3rd Editions of ISBER Best Practices and contributed
to the 4th Edition. As a member of this committee, she was involved in the development of many of the ISBER educational initiatives. She received the ISBER Special Service Award in 2008 and a Certificate of Appreciation for outstanding
contributions to ISBER from 2006 to 2012. She has developed and presented workshops including one on “Practical Approaches to the Daily Workflow Process of a Biobank” (Rotterdam, 2010) and the online, ISBER 101 BIOBANKING WORKSHOP “Preservation
and Management of Samples from Collection to Utilization” (2022). She has an interest in Biospecimen Science and has published in this area while remaining an active member of the ISBER Biospecimen Science Working Group where she co-authored
some of the groups pertinent publications. She currently serves on the Governance and Nomination Committees. |
She has been involved in planning a number of ISBER meetings- the 2018 Annual Meeting in Dallas, Texas, USA where she also co-chaired the symposium on Biospecimen Science; the 2023 Regional
meeting in Granada, Spain and recently served as co-chair for planning the 2024 Regional Meeting in Saint Petersburg, Florida, USA. She is volunteering with the planning team for the ISBER 2025 Annual meeting in Montreal, Canada on the
symposium focused on Pandemic Preparedness. As a research scientist, she is widely published and performs ad hoc review for the ISBER journal, Biopreservation and Biobanking and other scientific journals. Dr. Somiari served as a member
of the ISBER Task Force on ISO 20387 Biobanking - General requirements and is currently an ISBER Ambassador for the Americas.
Dr. Somiari is a Senior Director at the Windber Research Institute (WRI*), Windber PA, USA, where she conducts
cancer and biospecimen science research and directs the institute’s fully integrated and comprehensive Biobank. The Biobank serves as the designated consolidated biorepository for the US Department of Defense (DoD) Cancer Research Program
and is responsible for all biobanking activities for multiple DoD research programs which utilize more than 10 biospecimen resource sites across the US.
*WRI is also doing business as Chan Soon-Shiong Institute of Molecular
Medicine at Windber (CSSIMMW) |
Dr. Zhiquan (Andy) Shu is an Assistant Professor in the School of Engineering and Technology at the University of Washington (UW) Tacoma, the Associate Director of the Center for Cryo-Biomedical Engineering and Artificial Organs and an Affiliate
Assistant Professor at the University of Washington (Seattle).
Dr. Shu earned his dual bachelor’s degrees in both Mechanical Engineering and Computer Science & Technology from the University of Science and Technology of China
(USTC), and his Master and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering (specifically in cryobiology) from UW Seattle. Dr. Shu’s research has been focusing on fundamental and applied cryobiology. He has published 5 book chapters, authored/co-authored
about 85 peer-reviewed journal papers, and many conference papers and abstracts, covering various topics including the development of novel methods, technology, and instruments for cryobiology research and biopreservation applications,
optimal biopreservation of cells, tissues, and organs. He was the recipient of the “Dayong Gao Young Investigator Award” from the Society for Cryobiology in 2023. |
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Zhiquan (Andy) Shu |
Dr. Shu actively serves the cryobiology, biopreservation, and biobanking communities, including serving as the Treasurer and an Executive Member of the Society for Cryobiology (2018-2019), the Chair for webinars, committees, and conference
sessions. For ISBER, he has been the Section Editor (“Preservation Technology”) for the journal of Biopreservation and Biobanking since 2016, the co-Editor of the Special Issue of “Cryobiology in Biobanking” in 2022, a member of the Annual
Best Paper Award Committee since 2022, a loyal reviewer for the journal for about 15 years, and the co-Chair of the Cryobiology Innovation Special Interest Group, etc.
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