Dr. Amander Clark is the President of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) and Founding Director of the Center for Reproductive Science, Health, and Education at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Agnete Kirkeby is a Program Chair of the ISSCR Annual Meeting, Associate Professor at Lund University and the University of Copenhagen, and Group Leader at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Biology – reNEW. Dr. Malin Parmar is a Program Chair of the ISSCR Annual Meeting, Professor at Lund University, and a New York Stem Cell Foundation – Robertson Investigator.

They talk about the upcoming ISSCR 2024 meeting in Hamburg, Germany from July 10-13, 2024. They discuss the meeting’s clinical focus, spotlight and plenary sessions, and opportunities for students and postdocs.

Hypoblast Development in the Embryo – Scientists examined post-implantation signaling interactions using human embryos and stem cell models of the epiblast and hypoblast.

Retinoic Acid in Tissue Regeneration – Manipulating retinoid availability in skin and in culture allowed researchers to direct stem cells to heal wounds or to make hair.

Human Heart Development – Researchers developed a spatial map of the developing human heart.

Bioprinting Cardiac Tissues – hPSC-atrioventricular canal cardiomyocytes can delay electrical impulse in 3D bioprinted tissue.

Image courtesy of Drs. Amander Clark, Agnete Kirkeby, and Malin Parmar

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Dr. Marissa Scavuzzo is an HHMI Hanna H. Gray Fellow at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on enteric glia regulation in the healthy and diseased gut. She talks about how glial cell subtypes affect intestinal motility and her experience receiving NYSCF and HHMI fellowships. She also talks about bringing science to underserved schools in Cleveland.

Astrocytes in Organoids – Researchers generated a cortical organoid platform to investigate human astrocyte function.

SOX17 in Immune Evasion – Scientists used AKP organoids to demonstrate that SOX17 orchestrates immune evasion in the early steps of colon cancer.

Bone Marrow Organoids – Bone marrow organoids model aspects of hematopoietic development and inborn errors of hematopoiesis.

Patient-Derived Lymphoma Organoids – Patient-derived lymphoma organoids recapitulate the tumor lymphoid microenvironment.

Image Courtesy of Dr. Marissa Scavuzzo. Photographer: Jesse Zhan

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Dr. Ritu Raman is the d’Arbeloff Career Development Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, where her lab uses robotics and tissue engineering to treat muscle loss. She talks about light-activated muscle grafts, magnetic microparticles to control forces exerted on cells, and strategies for science communication.

Cell Therapy for COPD – Researchers conducted an early, open-label clinical trial of autologous P63+ lung progenitor cells for the treatment of patients with COPD.

Primary Hypoimmune Islets in Non-Human Primates – Hypoimmune pseudo-islets engraft and achieve insulin independence in a fully allogeneic monkey.

Modeling Proteinopathies in Neural Stem Cells – Scientists developed a model of neural networks to study ALS and frontotemporal lobar degeneration.

An Interactive Cardiomyocyte Exhibit – In a museum exhibit, visitors can synchronize live stem cell-derived cardiomyocytes’ beat rate to their own heartbeat in real time.

Image Courtesy of Dr. Ritu Raman

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Dr. Shiri Gur-Cohen is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Regenerative Medicine at UC San Diego. Her lab studies epithelial stem cells throughout their lifetimes. She talks about lymphatics in the intestinal stem cell niche, 3D imaging techniques, and sharing her science with a wider audience.

Non-Invasive Organoid Monitoring – Flexible electronics enable chronic recording of cortical organoids for up to 120 days while preserving their morphology, cytoarchitecture, and cell composition.

Human Neuronal Maturation – Researchers identified an epigenetic developmental program that sets the timing of human neuronal maturation.

The Gut-Liver Axis and Intestinal Stem Cells – Liver-derived pigment epithelium-derived factor restrains intestinal stem cell proliferation.

Recovery After Lung Infection – The TGF-β receptor 2 is important for lung endothelial cells to recover after injury due to influenza virus or SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Image Courtesy of Dr. Shiri Gur-Cohen

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Dr. Malin Parmar is a Professor at Lund University and a New York Stem Cell Foundation – Robertson Investigator. Her research aims to understand cell fate specification in the developing brain and in human neural progenitor cells using cell-based models of neuronal differentiation. She talks about using assembloids to model the dopaminergic system, direct reprogramming somatic cells into induced neurons, and developing ESC-derived dopamine progenitor cells to treat Parkinson’s disease.

Fetal Brain Organoids – Human fetal brain organoids display cellular heterogeneity and can be expanded.

SARS-CoV-2 in the Brain – hPSC-derived dopaminergic neurons are susceptible to SARS-CoV-2 infection.

Conjuctiva Organoids – Human conjunctiva organoid cultures enable the study of conjunctival (patho)-physiology.

Zebrafish Heart Regeneration – Scientists identified epicardial enhancer elements with specific activity during zebrafish development or during adult heart regeneration.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Malin Parmar

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Dr. Olivier Pourquié is the Frank Burr Mallory Professor of Pathology and Professor in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School. His work focuses on the segmentation clock and the development of muscles and vertebrae. He talks about studying somitogenesis in vitro and his work on brown fat development.

A GENtoniK Cocktail – A small molecule cocktail accelerates the maturation of hPSC-derived neurons.

Pancreatic Cancer Organoids – Researchers identified a compound that can inhibit the growth and induce cell death of pancreatic organoids carrying a KRAS mutation.

Multilineage Mammary Organoids – Multilineage ESC-derived mammary organoids contain mammary-specific epithelial cells, fibroblasts, and adipocytes, and can produce milk.

Chimeric Super-SOX – The Yamanaka cocktail upgraded with Sox2-17 enhanced iPSC generation in five species.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Olivier Pourquié

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Dr. Hwee Goon Tay is an Assistant Professor at the Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School and Dr. Beau Fenner is an Ophthalmologist at the Singapore National Eye Centre. Their work focuses on cell therapy for degenerative retinal diseases. They talk about strategies to slow degeneration and potentially restore vision.

A Hypoblast from hPSCs – Researchers used genetic and non-genetic approaches to generate authentic hypoblast cells from naïve hPSCs.

Culture Conditions for Mouse and Monkey Stem Cells – Stem cell co-cultures reveal crosstalk between embryonic and extraembryonic lineages.

Modeling Parkinson’s and Addiction – Scientists developed midbrain–striatum–cortical organoids that enable investigations into the human dopaminergic system.

Multi-Chamber Cardioids – A human cardioid platform recapitulates the development of all major embryonic heart compartments.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Drs. Hwee Goon Tay and Beau Fenner

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Dr. Jose Polo is a Professor of Epigenetics and the Director of the Centre for Epigenetics at the University of Adelaide. He is also a Professor in the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology at Monash University. His lab studies the transcriptional and epigenetic mechanisms that govern cell identity. He talks about his team’s work on cell fate, iBlastoids, and placental models for SARS-CoV-2.

Norepinephrine Neurons – Researchers generated locus coeruleus norepinephrine neurons from human pluripotent stem cells, enabling the investigation of their roles in psychiatric and neurodegenerative diseases.

Mice with Rat Hearts – Intraspecies blastocyst complementation generated a functional cardiovascular system in mice.

Cancer Risk in Gene Therapy – Scientists identified genetic drivers that could increase leukemia risk in gene therapy trials for sickle cell disease.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Jose Polo

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Dr. Stefan Irion is the Chief Scientific Officer of BlueRock Therapeutics and Dr. Viviane Tabar is the Chair of the Department of Neurosurgery at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center.  In this special episode, recorded in front of a live audience in New York, they talk about their work on BlueRock’s clinical trial for bemdaneprocel — a stem cell-derived investigational cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease. They also discuss what’s next for cell therapy and diversity in science and in patients.

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Dr. Helen Blau is the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation Professor and Director of the Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology at Stanford University. Dr. Blau’s research focuses on the basic molecular mechanisms of stem cells and muscle and their application to aging, regenerative medicine, and disease. Her lab aims to understand and apply biology to improve quality of life, and their current primary focus is on understanding the gerozyme 15-PGDH. She talks about the roles of NSAIDs and CD47 in muscle regeneration. She also discusses growing cultured meat and writing a children’s book!

The First Vertebrate Heartbeats – Using all-optical electrophysiology, researchers captured the very first heartbeat of a zebrafish.

Axolotl Limb Regeneration – Senescent cells comprise a pro-regenerative niche during axolotl limb regrowth.

Type 2 Diabetes-Associated Genes – Scientists engineered isogenic knockout human embryonic stem cell lines for 20 genes associated with type 2 diabetes risk.

Skull-Brain Communication in Craniosynostosis – Impaired meningeal lymphatics and brain perfusion drive neurocognitive defects in an animal model of craniosynostosis.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Helen Blau

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