Rigor & Standardization Subcommittee

The Rigor and Standardization Subcommittee (R&S) is a permanent subcommittee of the ISEV Science and Meetings committee that has independent authority over its scientific program.

The goal of the R&S Subcommittee is to improve the reproducibility of research on extracellular vesicles (EVs), and thus help the EV community attain robustness, reliability, credibility and sustainability. To achieve this goal, R&S assembles and guides teams of experts who work together as task forces and working groups on topics ranging from isolation and detection of EVs in a body fluid to regulatory affairs. Recommendations are disseminated in position papers, guidelines, and other products, and may be incorporated into MISEV (the Minimal Information for Studies of Extracellular Vesicles) and tools such as EV Track.

R&S and its task forces and working groups collaborate with members of other organizations to ensure access to relevant expertise and optimize dissemination and uptake of recommendations. These organizations include regulatory agencies such as EMA (European Medicines Agency) and the FDA (U.S. Food & Drug Administration), and non-commercial scientific societies, including ISAC (International Society on Advancement of Cytometry), ISTH (International Society on Thrombosis and Haemostasis), and ISCT (International Society on Cell and Gene Therapy).

The strength and credibility of task forces and working groups comes from the hundreds of scientists who volunteer to lead or participate in their activities. Participation offers excellent networking opportunities and collaboration with peers to expand professional potential and expertise.

R&S also offers financial support to organize interlaboratory comparison studies, develop reference materials and biological standards, organize workshops, develop online databases, and promote education.