From the very beginning of its activity the Institute for Problems of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine of the Academy of Sciences of Ukraine has been actively cooperating internationally with leading foreign universities and research institutions around the world. According to the main areas of scientific activity when studying the mechanisms of cryoinjury, cryoprotection, natural resistance of biological objects to cold and their repair after exposure to cold; creation of effective means of artificial cryoprotection of biological systems of various levels of organization and on their basis development of technologies for cryopreservation of biological objects and technical means of their implementation; application of hypothermia, cryotherapy and cryopreserved biological objects in the treatment of various diseases; cell and tissue therapy, the Institute for Problems of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine has agreements and cooperation with universities and research centers of Azerbaijan, Slovakia, the Czech Republic, Armenia, Great Britain, Spain, the USA, Germany, Sweden, Poland, the Netherlands, Estonia, etc.
For over 25 years, the Institute for Problems of Cryobiology and Cryomedicine has been cooperating with the IMET2000 Foundation, which promotes international cooperation in education and research in health care. The Foundation supports the education and training of postgraduate students and young scientists mainly in the field of in vitro fertilization, genetics, tissue storage, tissue regeneration, biotechnology, transplantation, pathology and women’s health. Cooperation is carried out through working and study visits to the UK, Sweden, France, Belgium, Italy and the Czech Republic funded by IMET2000, joint grant applications for international donors for specific projects, travel scholarships for young scientists and medical professionals, scholarships for postgraduate students leading to higher degrees (Master’s and PhD) in the UK and Sweden, working visits of international experts, etc. The Foundation also supports and collaborates with the Low-Temperature Cell and Tissue Bank at the Institute, which stores research material that is of great importance for the preservation of endangered species of animals and plants.
Since 2019, the Institute has been closely cooperating with the UVIGO Marine Research Centre (CIM-UVIGO) (Spain), this partnership was consolidated by composing a cooperation agreement that allows both institutions to continue research and training in the field of biology, which studies the impact of low temperatures on living organisms and plays a crucial role as the Noah’s Ark of the 21st century, offering the opportunity to preserve and recreate biodiversity on Earth. Both the Marine Research Center of the University of Vigo and the IPCC have significant experience and international recognition in this field of research. An exchange program has also been actively launched. The collaboration between both institutions has been expanded due to the Erasmus K107 mobility project, already granted in 2021, which allowed the exchange of postgraduate students specializing specifically in cryobiology between the University of Vigo and the IPCC during the 2021/2022 academic year. Another area of collaboration between the institutions is research under the transnational access project within the H2020 Assemble Plus project on turbot sperm cryopreservation. Among the many links that unite the CIM with the IPCC is the UNESCO Chair in Cryobiology.
Within the recent 5 years the IPCC has extended its cooperation with research institutions and educational centers worldwide and for now has an extensive contacts as follows:
- Institute of Biology and Immunology of Reproduction BAS “Acad. Kiril Bratanov” at the Bulgarian Academy of Sciences
- University of Vigo, Spain
- Center for Ultrastructural Imaging, King’s College London
- Institute of Experimental Medicine CAS, Prague
- Institute of Neuroimmunology, Slovak Academy of Sciences, Bratislava
- Institute of Experimental Medicine of the Czech Academy of Sciences
- CROP Research Institute, Czech Republic
- Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic
- Institute for Multiphase Processes, Leibniz University Hannover, Germany
- Institute of Animal Reproduction and Food Research of the Polish Academy of Sciences.
- Reproductive Biology Research Group of the Department Chemistry and Biotechnology, Tallinn University of Technology.
- Institute of Physiology of the Czech Academy of Sciences
- Institute of Quantum Optics at the University of Hannover, Germany
- Association Chaine de L’Espoir/ Chain of Hope International medical network, France
- French NGO Mehad, France