The International Cell Type Authentication Committee (ICTAC) is an organization which has been launched for establishing criteria and processes for defining, determining, and authenticating all human cell types. Our mission is to help verify cell types used in communities as resources in their activities and provide systematic information on cell classifications.
ICTAC is an independent Committee with support from the scientific community.
It was initiated in 2018 by Charite University Medicine Berlin and Kyoto University.
ICTAC was set up after meetings in Berlin and Kyoto by Charite/BCRT and Kyoto University / CiRA. During the meetings (Apr. 19th-26th 2018, Sept. 30th - Oct. 4th 2018, May 15th-17th 2019, Sept. 16th-18th 2019) key issues of cell authentication and referencing in light of new data and technology application, were identified. It was recognized that these must be adressed through an independent committee involving the stakeholder communities. The task must integrate cell type databases, which already exist such as SHOGoiN, CellFinder and Cell Ontology. ICTAC calls for partners to collaborate with ICTAC on this task.