Educational Program

AABB continues to focus on delivering high quality didactic experiences for attendees. Educational offerings in 2008 include topics on TRALI, TACO, LEAN practices, tissue management, transfusion transmitted diseases, mentoring, and an “Ask the FDA” session.  Review the “Schedule at a Glance” for a complete listing of this year’s educational sessions.

2008 AABB Annual Meeting Tracks
Schedule at a Glance
Detailed Educational Program PDF (Available June 2008)

2008 Educational Tracks

• The Chief Officer Track (CO), formerly the CEO track, addresses business strategies, strategic management principles and positioning in a highly regulated industry.
• The Leadership Management Track (LMT) focuses on financial, managerial and personnel issues that are universal to all managers and supervisors.
• The Quality/Education Track (QE) emphasizes quality assurance, regulatory issues and training/education methods.
• The Recruitment/Collections Track (RC) discusses donor recruitment strategies and collection issues and initiatives.
• The Scientific Track (S) reports on the latest research initiatives within transfusion medicine, cellular therapies and related biological therapies.
• The Technical/Clinical Track (TC) addresses developments in laboratory testing and patient care.

Cellular Therapy Focus at Annual Meeting
Join us in Montréal where AABB will offer a host of topics relevant to the cellular therapy professional.  Are you interested in how a comparable program manages cGMP compliance or who has experience with a new technology, testing format, or vendor that you're considering? Be prepared to share your practices and learn how other cellular therapy professionals handle similar issues when you attend the "Cell Therapy Sizzling Topics" networking luncheon at the 2008 Annual Meeting.  Prepared specifically for the cellular therapy professional, this session promises an interactive format where you and your colleagues informally, yet candidly, discuss current topics that impact your daily operations. 

Another session will include roundtable discussions. Designed to be the 'speed dating' for Laboratory Technologists and Managers, this program will feature interactive discussions on topics including quality assurance’s role in a cell therapy laboratory, managing lab staff, raw material testing in a laboratory and archiving records.

A program highlighting instant response technology will address how your practices compare to how other centers handle both routine and challenging cellular therapy processes.  The audience will answer polling questions, receive an immediate breakdown of the responses and participate in a lively discussion of the results.

Attend these programs and 19 additional sessions that will take place over the four days of the meeting.  Other topics that will be covered include: new aspects of mobilization and homing; clinical advances in hematopoietic cell transplantation; equipment options for large volume processing; and advances in cell culture and manufacturing devices for cellular therapy products.  In addition, an afternoon will be dedicated to Cellular therapy oral abstract presentations.
 

2008 Opening Session

Lyn Heward, Former president and COO, Cirque du Soleil

Cirque du Soleil is widely recognized as one of the most innovative and creative companies in the world today. The person who developed and managed that creative fire for much of the company's history is Lyn Heward.

Beginning as an acrobatic scouting coordinator and creation studio director, Ms. Heward's responsibilities evolved as Cirque du Soleil grew in scope. In 2000 she was named President and COO of Cirque du Soleil's Creative Content Division, a position she held until 2005.  In the latter position, Ms. Heward was responsible for managing, guiding and channeling the incredible creative force of the company's designers, performers, artisans, and technicians into a product that was both breathtakingly original as well as commercially successful.

AABB is honored to have Ms. Heward as the opening session speaker in Montreal, where Cirque du Soleil is headquartered.  In her presentation, Ms. Heward will go behind the scenes of the world famous Cirque du Soleil to explore the nature of creativity and innovation. She will provide the audience with practical suggestions, as well as the inspiration to find and develop the creative spark that lives within us all. Making brilliant use of images and video from Cirque du Soleil's groundbreaking shows, she will lead our attendees through a succession of stories, anecdotes, and examples that are both instructional and motivational, and that touch a wide range of issues relevant to every organization-from risk-taking, to leadership, teamwork, and product development.

Simultaneous Translation

This year's meeting includes many sessions simultaneously translated from English into French.  For an up-to-date complete list of the simultaneously translated sessions, please e-mail the Education Department at education@aabb.org.