CRB Meeting Committee
Jean M. Popwell, Ph.D., HCLD/CC (ABB)

Hello fellow CRB members,

I am very excited to announce that the next AAB Conference and CRB Symposium will be held in New Orleans, May 16-18, 2019!

New Orleans is a Louisiana city on the Mississippi River, near the Gulf of Mexico. Nicknamed the "Big Easy," it's known for its round-the-clock nightlife, vibrant live-music scene and spicy, singular cuisine reflecting its history as a melting pot of French, African and American cultures.

The AAB Conference, CRB Workshop and Symposium will be held at the Sheraton New Orleans Hotel, 500 Canal Street, New Orleans, Louisiana. The Sheraton New Orleans is a four diamond hotel situated in downtown New Orleans, across from the French Quarter, close to many restaurants, shopping and entertainment venues.

The theme for the upcoming CRB Symposium is “Essential Elements of the Modern IVF Lab” and will focus on current and future technology, performance indicators and factors, methodology, IVF lab culture and work environments we must utilize to maintain a highly functional and successful IVF lab. Every embryologist often asks, "but what did they do to become such a high performance IVF lab?" Is it time to update your procedures, standards, lab equipment or performance indicators? This symposium will give you the answers to those questions and more.

Throughout the symposium we will be joined by many thought provoking speakers. A short list of speakers include David McCulloh, Ph.D., Amy Sparks, Ph.D., Catherine Racowsky, Ph.D., Dean Morbeck, Ph.D., Kim Pomeroy, Ph.D., Paul Turek, M.D. and many others.

The theme for the CRB Workshop, which will occur on May 15, 2019, is "Alert and Alarmed: Mini-symposium on IVF Lab Tank Safety and Alarm Monitoring:. The workshop will focus on LN₂ specimen storage and gas tank room safety. Topics for discussion will include gas tank usage/safety (low O₂ prevention), dewar shipping/receiving of frozen tissues, LN₂ storage tank alarms/security, and maintenance and disaster preparedness.

On both main symposium days, May 16 and 17, roundtable discussions will take place during lunch. If you are interested in presenting any data or new ideas, please let the meeting committee know. Also, there will be oral presentations and poster sessions at the meeting on May 17. We encourage everyone to participate, as we hope to receive abstracts from both junior and senior researchers. Please stay tuned for the abstract submission deadlines and instructions.

It is the commitment of the CRB Meeting Committee to plan both an educational and stimulating symposium. We look forward to completing this task! We also encourage you to contact us with any symposium or workshop ideas you may have as well as conference events.

Please save the date: May 16-18, 2019. We will see you in New Orleans!

Jean M. Popwell, Ph.D., HCLD/CC(ABB)