AATB distributed an Accredited Institution Satisfaction Survey on Monday, December 1 to each Accredited Institution's Primary Establishment Contact (formerly MwER). Your feedback is essential in helping us identify areas for improvement and new ways to better serve our community. The survey will remain open until Monday, December 15, 2025. If you did not receive the survey, please check your spam folder. For questions or assistance accessing the survey, contact footmanj@aatb.org. Thank you for taking the time to share your input!

The AATB Grant Program funds research that helps move the entire field of tissue banking forward. Whether you’re studying how to improve recovery methods, evaluating clinical outcomes, or comparing allografts to other technologies, your work could make a real difference. What makes AATB funding unique is its focus on open, non-proprietary research that benefits the whole community, not just one organization. Each project is reviewed by scientific experts for quality, impact, and innovation. Letters of Intent are due December 31, 2025. Learn more about eligibility, key dates, and how to apply.

ScienceDaily
A new “zap-and-freeze” imaging technique has revealed how synaptic vesicles rapidly release and recycle messages in mouse and human neurons, offering insights into the origins of nonheritable Parkinson’s disease and potential paths for future therapies.

SciTechDaily
Researchers have discovered that groups of normal cells can collectively sense structures far beyond their immediate environment, a mechanism that helps explain cancer cell migration and could lead to new strategies for limiting tumor spread.

NPJ Biomedical Innovations
Stem cell-based therapies show promise for treating abdominal aortic aneurysms by targeting inflammation, vascular degeneration, and extracellular matrix degradation, offering potential alternatives to current surgical interventions and paving the way for earlier-stage, regenerative treatments.

Newsweek
Scientists at Texas A&M have developed a nanomaterial-based method that turns stem cells into mitochondrial “biofactories,” enabling them to restore energy production in damaged cells and potentially slow or reverse age-related tissue decline and certain mitochondrial-driven diseases.

Stanford Medicine
Blocking the aging-related protein 15-PGDH in mice and human tissue regenerates joint cartilage and may offer a future alternative to knee and hip replacements for treating osteoarthritis.

In today’s fast-paced world, trainers are expected to juggle teaching alongside their everyday roles, but are they truly set up to succeed? Join us on December 17 for “Training and Support: Employee Retention.” This webinar will explore what makes a strong trainer support program, how to design effective lessons, and how to meet learners where they are. You’ll walk away with practical strategies to strengthen both trainers and trainees, ensuring a lasting impact. Register today to secure your place in this session!
Target Audience: This webinar is for training professionals, education coordinators, supervisors, and team leads in tissue banking and related fields who are responsible for developing, mentoring, or supporting staff.

Seattle, Washington: A full-time Research Technician I is needed in a laboratory within our Translational Science & Therapeutics Division that aims to comprehensively study human lung cancer in a translational cancer research laboratory. The selected applicant will assist other laboratory staff in the collection of various human samples, maintenance of the biorepository performance of experiments with these samples at the bench, routine laboratory maintenance, and specimen processing. Basic experience in the performance of PCR, ELISA, flow cytometry, sequencing, developing cell and protein assays, cell culture, and handling of laboratory animals is essential.

Seattle, Washington: The Simeonov Lab at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Center is seeking a full-time Research Technician I or II to join our interdisciplinary team studying cancer evolution, metastasis, and therapy resistance. Cancer is inherently challenging to study because many of its most critical features, such as metastasis and drug resistance, arise from extremely rare, unpredictable events and cells. We need powerful, next-generation tools to better understand and ultimately treat cancer. Our group develops and applies cutting-edge molecular recorder technologies that enable cells to log aspects of their own biology directly into their DNA. These tools are used in combination with single-cell sequencing and experimental cancer models to uncover the molecular principles governing key elements of cancer evolution.

Seattle, Washington: Fred Hutch is recruiting a Senior Research Pathologist to lead/direct the pathology (anatomic and molecular) components of the Sloan Precision Oncology Institute. The position is for a full-time, on-site, research member specializing primarily in solid tumor Anatomic Pathology and relevant aspects of Molecular Diagnostics.