Preservation of Cellular Therapies is a professional short course founded in 2003 to provide practical training for those individuals involved in the preservation of cellular therapies. This virtual course is associated with the Biopreservation Core Resource at the University of Minnesota and will be hosted on May 18-19, 2021.
Course Overview: Preservation of Cellular Therapies
Currently 1.2 million patients are receiving treatment from regenerative medicine products produced by 171 companies with a capital value of approximately $4.7 billion. Most molecules, cells and tissues are collected at a given time and location for use at a later time. Therefore, our ability to stabilize biological properties (e.g. viability, biomarkers) during transportation and long-term storage is a critical technology.
The preservation of cellular therapies is the central focus of this professional short course.
Come learn about fundamentals of preservation, protocol development, design of a storage facility, regulatory issues associated with preservation of cell therapies, clinical issues and more.
Target Audience for Course
The course is appropriate for manufacturing engineers, managers as well as technicians who work with cell-based products: cell banks, biobanks, companies that use cell-based assays, cell therapy companies, regenerative medicine companies, hospitals or cell therapy laboratories.
The course material is designed for those who have little experience with preservation as well as those proficient in preservation who are interested in improving their practices.
Lecture topics will include:
- Fundamentals of cryopreservation
- Protocol development
- Regulatory issues in cryopreservation
- Designing a storage facility
- Containers, reagents and equipment
- Emerging issues in preservation of cell therapies
- Clinical cell cryopreservation
- Quality control
The course also offers opportunities for corporate partners who are interested in taking advantage of this high-visibility opportunity to reach individuals involve in preservation.
Lecturers for Preservation of Cellular Therapies
Lecturers for the course will include:
Allison Hubel, PhD is Professor of Mechanical Engineering and Director of the Biopreservation Core Resource (BioCoR, www.biocor.umn.edu), a national resource in biopreservation. Dr. Hubel has studied both basic science and translational issues behind preservation of molecules, cells and tissues. Her research focuses on development of fit-for-purpose protocols for preservation, development of technology to improve preservation/processing of cells, and understanding molecular mechanisms of damage during preservation.
Diane Kadidlo received her B.S. from Iowa State University. She has over 19 years experience in cell and tissue manufacturing, regulation and quality assurance. She has served as the Supervisor for the University of Minnesota Medical Center Clinical Cell Therapy Laboratory since 1996 overseeing the production of cell and tissue products in support of the University of Minnesota’s Blood and Marrow Transplant Program. Currently she is the Director of th UMN’s Molecular and Cellular Therapeutics Facility and plays a key role in coordinating the transfer of cell and tissue engineering methods from the laboratory bench to clinical trial while ensuring compliance with the FDA’s Good Manufacturing Practices/Good Tissue Practices.
David McKenna, M.D. is a Professor of Laboratory Medicine & Pathology at the University of Minnesota where he holds the American Red Cross Chair in Transfusion Medicine. He is the Scientific and Medical Director of Molecular & Cellular Therapeutics, the cGMP facility of the University of Minnesota, and the Laboratory and Medical Director of the M Health Clinical Cell Therapy Lab. He is actively involved with the NHLBI-sponsorsed PACT (Production Assistance for Cellular Therapies), serving as the PI at Minnesota, and he is the co-PI of the NIH R25 training program in cell therapy.
Ian M Pope, PhD, MBA, BSc is the Global Director of Cryo Solutions at Brooks Life Sciences. Ian has worked in the area of cryogenic systems for over 25 years, initially as managing director of Planer PLC, the original manufacturer of controlled rate freezers. He later ran the BioMedical Division of MVE/Chart, the worlds largest provider of cryogenic storage freezers and liquid distribution systems and co-owned Core Cryolab a unique biorepository, cord blood bank and international consulting group in Toronto, Canada.
Fran Rabe has over 20 years of experience working in the areas of tissue and cell quality assurance and regulatory compliance. She currently oversees the quality assurance aspect of operations at the University of Minnesota Molecular and Cellular Therapeutics (MCT) Facility, a GMP facility that manufactures standard and IND hematopoietic products, pancreatic cellular products and active pharmaceutical ingredients.
Registering for Preservation of Cellular Therapies
Have questions about this course? Contact the course organizers by email at biocor@umn.edu or call 612.626.4451.
Or, click here to view the schedule and register today:
https://biocor.umn.edu/pct-registration