The Stem Cell Podcast

Dr. Davide Marotta is the Program Director for In-Space Biomanufacturing at the International Space Station National Laboratory. Dr. Catriona Jamieson is the Director of the Sanford Stem Cell Institute at the University of California, San Diego. In this special episode recorded in front of a live audience at ISSCR 2024 in Hamburg, Germany, they talk about the opportunities and challenges of working with stem cells in a microgravity environment, and what this could mean for the future of stem cell-based therapies. They discuss the challenges of culturing cells in space, the need for risk reduction and collaboration, and how microgravity affects stem cell growth and aging. They also discuss the opportunities that come with the growing popularity of private spaceflight.

In July 2024, Daylon and Arun attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research’s (ISSCR) annual meeting in Hamburg, Germany, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the previous 24 hours. Here is the final of four episodes from the meeting. Sessions focused on stem cell research in space, regulatory and ethical considerations for human embryo models, and developing therapies for SCID, epilepsy, and spinal cord injury. Daylon and Arun also discussed work on salivary gland organoids and patient advocacy in Parkinson's disease research.

In July 2024, Daylon and Arun attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research’s (ISSCR) annual meeting in Hamburg, Germany, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the previous 24 hours. Here is the third of four episodes from the meeting. Highlights from Day 3 include Dr. Yasuhiro Takashima's work on bilaminoids, Dr. Clive Svendsen's talk on organoid models for ALS, Dr. Sharon Gerecht's research on modeling the microenvironment, and Dr. Katsuhiko Hayashi's work with gonadal organoids.

In July 2024, Daylon and Arun attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research’s (ISSCR) annual meeting in Hamburg, Germany, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the previous 24 hours. Here is the second of four episodes from the meeting. Highlights from Day 2 include Dr. Helmuth Gehart's work on mesothelioma organoids, Dr. Kyoko Miura's research on aging in naked mole rats, and Dr. Mansi Srivastava's talk on panther worms to study pluripotency during development.

In July 2024, Daylon and Arun attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research’s (ISSCR) annual meeting in Hamburg, Germany, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the previous 24 hours. Here is the first of four episodes, where Daylon and Arun discuss the clinical focus of this year's meeting and the President's Symposium, including Dr. Magdalena Götz's talk on organellar heterogeneity and "moonlighting" proteins. They also talk about sessions on stem cells in low earth orbit and computational biology, including Dr. Jonathan Weissman's work on PerturbSeq and Dr. Matthias Lutolf's work on organoids on chips. Finally, they discuss a session on cultured meat.

Dr. Valentina Greco is the Carolyn Walch Slayman Professor of Genetics and Co-Chair of the Committee on the Status of Women in Medicine at Yale University. Her research focuses on tissue homeostasis in the face of continuous cellular turnover, frequent injuries, and spontaneous mutations. She talks about her research on skin and hair follicle stem cells, the role of imaging techniques, and bridging science and art. She also discusses disease modeling and building an inclusive lab culture.

Dr. Sara Vasconcelos is a Senior Scientist and the John Kitson McIvor Endowed Chair in Diabetes Research at University Health Network. She is also an Associate Professor at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. Her lab studies microvascular regeneration in cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, and are working to develop personalized patient-derived organ-chip models for drug screening and other applications. In this episode, she talks about modeling cardiac fibrosis and studying pancreatic islet vasculature. She also discusses working with microchips and with large animal models.

Dr. Sebastian Diecke is a Group Leader and Stem Cell Core Director at the Max Delbrück Center, where his research focuses on iPSCs and organoid models. He talks about the early days of iPSC research, developing organoids from endangered rhinoceros, and modeling Huntington's and other diseases.

Dr. Shukry Habib is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the Université de Lausanne. His lab works at the intersection of stem cell biology, biophysics, and tissue engineering to investigate how tissues form. He talks about developing a transplantable bandage for bone repair and the role of Wnt signaling and cytonemes in development.

Dr. Shankar Srinivas is a Professor of Developmental Biology in the Department of Physiology Anatomy and Genetics based in the Institute for Developmental and Regenerative Medicine at the University of Oxford. He is also a Zeitlyn Fellow and Tutor in Medicine at Jesus College. Using mouse and human embryos as model systems, his group looks at the control of patterning and morphogenesis during the establishment of the anterior-posterior axis, gastrulation, and early cardiogenesis. He discusses how tissues respond to forces during early development, characterizing cardiac progenitors, and his experience training internationally.

Dr. Pierre Vanderhaeghen is a Professor and Principal Investigator at VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research. His lab studies the mechanisms of cortical development and brain evolution. He talks about species-specific neuronal development, human neuron excitability, and playing in a rock cover band!

Dr. Ryan Flynn is a Principal Investigator at Boston Children's Hospital and an Assistant Professor in the Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Department at Harvard University. His lab explores the interface between RNA and glycans. He talks about the discovery of glycoRNA and the chemistry of the RNA-glycan connection. He also discusses the effects of glycans on stem cell function and deciding between a career in medicine and basic science.

Dr. Blair Benham-Pyle is an Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medicine. She talks about how multipotent cells in Schmidtea mediterranea enable whole-body regeneration. She also discusses the effects of the mechanical environment on stem cell fate.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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.