This episode features a conversation Dan Kaufman, PhD, Director of the Sanford Advanced Therapy Center at the Sanford Stem Cell Institute, and his extensive background in the field of regenerative medicine. At UC San Diego, Dr. Kaufman performs clinical work in hematology and blood and marrow transplantation. He also oversees the Advanced Cell Therapy Laboratory (ACTL), a cGLP/cGMP-compliant facility which provides good manufacturing practice and cell manufacturing to translate new cell-based therapies to clinical trials; to help investigators advance cell therapy products from research to clinical manufacturing.

Hosted by Bobby Gordon. This episode was recorded on Aug. 14, 2025, and information was current as of the date of recording.

Our discussion in this episode features Alex Khalessi, MD, MBA, and his innovative work on the intersection between stem cell therapies, regenerative medicine, and neurological disorders. He serves as co-director of the Brain Tumor and Neurorestoration Program at the Sanford Stem Cell Institute.

Khalessi is the former president of the Congress of Neurological Surgeons (CNS), and is chair of the Department of Neurological Surgery, professor of neurological surgery, radiology and neurosciences and the inaugural Don and Karen Cohn Chancellor's Endowed Chair in Neurosurgery at UC San Diego. As a board-certified neurosurgeon, he specializes in complex cranial surgery, endovascular neurosurgery, stroke care, and neurological oncology.

Hosted by Bobby Gordon. This episode was recorded Aug. 15, 2025; information presented was current as of the date of recording.

This episode is a robust conversation with Pinar Mesci, PhD, the Senior Program Manager for In-Space Manufacturing at Axiom Space.

Our discussion includes her postdoctoral work with Alysson Muotri, PhD, at UC San Diego and her ongoing work leading and facilitating space-based research in low-Earth orbit.

Previously, Dr. Mesci was a project scientist at UC San Diego studying human neurodevelopment using human induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs). Her career includes experience in translational and biomedical research with a track record of publications in the fields of neuroscience, stem cells, inflammation, Zika virus and coronavirus infections. Dr. Mesci holds a patent for the development of methods to generate functional human brain organoids. In 2021, she received the International Rett Syndrome Foundation (IRSF) Innovation Award for her work studying the immune interactions in Rett Syndrome using iPSCs.

Hosted by Bobby Gordon. This episode was recorded Aug. 8, 2025; information presented was current as of the date of recording.

The Sanford Stem Cell Institute's Bobby Gordon sits down with Joel Castellanos, MD, one of UC San Diego's premiere spinal cord injury researchers and practitioners. He serves as one of the Alpha Clinic's Trial Experts, and as the associate clinical professor of anesthesiology at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

Our discussion includes his ideas and work formulating and building a foundational infrastructure across disciplines to treat and rehabilitate spinal cord injuries and function.

He is a board-certified physical medicine and rehabilitation and pain medicine physician, and serves as medical director of Inpatient Rehabilitation. Dr. Castellanos' prime focus is improving function using an individualized approach. His expertise with interventional pain techniques allows for an integrative strategy to preserve and restore function. Dr. Castellanos evaluates, diagnoses and treats all forms of functional disability and pain using a multi-disciplinary team-based approach. He is particularly interested in neuromodulation at various levels including spinal cord stimulation and peripheral nerve stimulation, interventional spine procedures, radiofrequency neurotomy, ultrasound-guided and fluoroscopically-guided procedures, and regenerative medicine such as platelet-rich plasma, stem cells, and Tenex (minimally invasive technology for treatment of chronic pain).

Hosted by Bobby Gordon. This episode was recorded Jan. 21, 2025; information presented was current as of the date of recording.

This episode's conversation focuses on the innovative work of Dr. Catriona Jamieson, Director of the Sanford Stem Cell Institute at UC San Diego, and the Axiom-4 (Ax-4) launch. This space research mission includes the Institute's testing of the efficacy of "rebecsnib" on tumor organoids derived from cancer stem cells of consenting patients with secondary acute myeloid leukemia, ovarian cancer, metastatic breast cancer and glioblastoma multiforme. The drug holds potential to fight 23 types of cancer — any that involve ADAR1 in their development and progression. The hope is that the investigational new drug prevents the miniature tumors from growing, as it did on Axiom Space's previous Ax-3 mission, with cell line-derived triple negative breast cancer tumor organoids.

Hosted by Bobby Gordon

This episode was recorded on June 6, 2025, and information presented is accurate as of this date.

This episode features our conversation with Sarah Karpen, PA-C, who serves as an APP supervisor with the Alpha Clinic, CRM service, and Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center at UC San Diego. Sarah provides an overview for what it's like to participate in regenerative medicine and stem cell clinical trials from a patient perspective, and discusses our holistic, inter-disciplinary approach to healthcare.

Hosted by Bobby Gordon.

This episode was recorded on January 24, 2025 and information presented is current as of this date.

This episode features Holly Young, MSc, who serves as the facility director of the Advanced Cell Therapy Laboratory (ACTL), as part of the Sanford Advanced Therapy Center at UC San Diego. The mission of ACTL is to provide leading-edge services for the development and production of innovative cell therapy products, to support UC San Diego and other researchers in the transition from research and development to clinically relevant manufacturing of cell therapy products; to improve patient treatments. Learn more at actl.ucsd.edu.

Hosted by Bobby Gordon.

This episode was recorded on January 30, 2025 and information presented is current as of this date.

This episode features our conversation with Dr Kenneth A. Savin, Chief Scientist at Redwire. Dr. Savin was named to TIME's "2025 TIME100 Health List of the 100 Most Influential People in Global Health." We discuss his 20-plus year career and expertise in the pharmaceutical industry and his pioneering work accelerating cutting-edge space biotech research capabilities, leveraging microgravity to improve human health on Earth. At Redwire, Dr. Savin has overseen trailblazing investigations onboard the International Space Station (ISS) in partnership with NASA and the ISS National Laboratory. Redwire successfully bioprinted the first human knee meniscus and first live human cardiac tissue using its BioFabrication Facility on the ISS. These breakthroughs address challenges faced by millions of people worldwide through the application of organ transplantation and tissue therapy and advance the next generation of pharmaceutical therapies. Dr. Savin has coordinated groundbreaking protein crystallization investigations onboard the ISS with pharmaceutical companies like Eli Lilly and Company (Lilly) and Bristol Myers Squibb using Redwire's in-space pharmaceutical lab, PIL-BOX, for improved drug development. These investigations have focused on various applications to address the world's most prevalent conditions, including antiviral, antifungal, and antiseizure applications, heart disease, and bone loss.

Hosted by Bobby Gordon.

This episode was recorded on December 2, 2024, and information presented in this episode is current as of this date.

Our conversation with Dr. Sheldon Morris, M.D., MPH, includes an overview of stem cells and some of the basics of regenerative medicine. Our Stem Cells 101 episode provides listeners with high-level, foundational knowledge about research and therapeutic treatments, clinical trials and related work from Dr. Morris and his team at the UC San Diego Sanford Stem Cell Institute and the Sanford Stem Cell Clinical Center. Learn more at stemcells.ucsd.edu.

Hosted by Bobby Gordon.

This episode was recorded on April 7, 2025, and information presented is current as of the date of this recording.

The Sanford Stem Cell Institute's Bobby Gordon sits down with Davide Marotta, Ph.D., program director of in-space biomanufacturing at the International Space Station National Laboratory (ISSNL), to discuss the innovative low-Earth orbit economy and the future of science in space. We also discuss ISSNL's collaborations with UC San Diego's Sanford Stem Cell Institute.

Before joining the ISSNL in 2022, Dr. Marotta worked as a scientist at the New York Stem Cell Foundation, where his research focused on developing advanced models of neurodegenerative diseases using induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC)-derived brain organoids and tracking the effects of microgravity on them.

He received both bachelor's and master's of science degrees in biomedicine from the University of Palermo in Italy, and a Ph.D. in molecular and cell biology at University College London. He conducted post-doctoral research at the Institute of Cancer Research in London, where he worked on drug discovery and cancer evolution, and Columbia University in New York, where his research centered on hematopoietic stem cells and aging.

Dr. Marotta is the author of the newly released book "The Gravity of Innovation." Published in April 2025, it explores the revolutionary impact of space on science, technology, and industry.

Hosted by Bobby Gordon. This episode was recorded Oct. 15, 2024; information presented was current as of the date of recording.