Cryopreservation and Other Preservation Approaches for Animal Models Workshop

Purpose

This workshop will provide a forum for experts to discuss the needs of cryopreservation and other preservation approaches for animal models that are widely used in biomedical research. The discussion will focus on the current emerging technologies. The goal of the workshop is to enhance the maintenance and sharing of animal models.

Background

It is challenging to ensure the efficiency, rigor, reproducibility, and translatability of animal research, especially as thousands of diverse research organisms have been or are being created to study biological mechanisms and develop therapeutic approaches for human health. The pace at which genetic models are generated has dramatically accelerated with breakthroughs in genome editing, such as CRISPR-Cas9 technologies. Reliable and efficient maintenance and distribution of these emerging animal models are critical. Animal models currently are archived by cryopreservation or in live colonies, depending on the research organism. Each research organism often has its own unique preservation approach. There remains a great need to expand the efficiency of existing cryopreservation approaches. In particular, much remains to be done to develop reliable and effective cryopreservation and other preservation methods for animal models, particularly those that currently are maintained with labor-intensive and error-prone live colonies.

Objectives

This workshop will be a forum to address topics related to cryopreservation and other preservation methods, including, but not limited to: (1) the needs and scientific status of cryopreservation and other preservation of gametes (sperm, oocytes, and embryos), reproductive tissues, larvae, and whole animals and their production of live offspring after revival; (2) emerging cryopreservation and other preservation methods and technologies, as well as how to optimize and implement them; (3) methods, technologies, and infrastructure to assess the impact of intrinsic and extrinsic factors on the quality, efficiency, and success of cryopreservation and other preservation protocols and revival, including scalability and reproducibility; (4) the sharing of technologies, including hands-on training for cryopreservation best practices, and training of next-generation scientists; and (5) the preservation and management of samples from collection to utilization.

The workshop will be organized in six sessions focused on (1) invertebrate models, (2) aquatic models, (3) technologies and training, (4) rodent models, (5) nonhuman primate models, and (6) swine models. The workshop will gather insights and conclusions from experts in the field and lead to the release of a workshop report and, potentially, journal article(s). The workshop will allow refinement of NIH programs on preservation of genetic stocks of animal resources for biomedical research.

Session Titles and Dates

Session I (September 6, 2024)
Cryopreservation and Other Preservation Methods for Invertebrate Models in Biomedical Research

Session II (September 9 & 10, 2024)
Cryopreservation and Development of Sustainable Germplasm Repositories for Aquatic Biomedical Models

Session III (September 30, 2024)
Cryoresearch - Supporting Technology and Resources

Session IV (October 16, 2024)
Cryopreservation and Other Preservation Methods for Rodent Models in Biomedical Research

Session V (February 7, 2025)
Long-Term Preservation Methods for Nonhuman Primate Models in Biomedical Research

Session VI (February 10, 2025)
Challenges and Opportunities of Swine’s Biomedical Models Germplasm Preservation

Zoom Link

Zoom links will be provided by email after registration.