European Society of Animal Cell Technology

During the biannual Meeting of ESACT, the European Society of Animal Cell Technology, the position of Chair was handed over from Prof. Paula Alves of IBET, Portugal to BOKU´s Nicole Borth. At the same time, the Society decided to reflect recent developments in the field by changing its name to “The European Society for the Advancement of Cell Technology”, thus being able to keep the well established and renowned logo.

ESACT was founded in 1976, in the very early days of using animal cells for the production of biopharmaceuticals. Amongst the founders was Prof. Hermann Katinger. Since then, the biannual meeting of the society has developed into the most important scientific conference in the field in Europe. The main objective of the meetings is to bring together scientists, engineers and other specialists working with animal cells, to promote communication and networking between European and International investigators and to advance the development of cell systems and production technology based on animal cells. The society also supports young scientists interested in these fields by organizing courses on Animal Cell Technology, Vaccine production and, more recently, on Gene and Cell Therapy. More details on the work of ESACT can be found at www.esact.org. 

Nicole Borth has been a member of ESACT since 1987 and served in its Executive Committee since 2009. She has organized the 2011 ESACT Meeting at the Hofburg in Vienna and held the position of Treasurer and Secretary. As ESACT Chair she will strive to further enhance the international network of the society and its activities to support students and young professionals.