The Stem Cell Podcast

Guest: Dr. Camilla Forsberg is the Co-Director of the Institute for the Biology of Stem Cells, and a Professor of Biomolecular Engineering at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Her lab seeks to understand the molecular determinants of hematopoietic stem cell fate decisions to ultimately prevent and treat both genetic and acquired disorders of the hematopoietic system. Featured Products and Resources: Hematopoiesis News HemaHub The Stem Cell Science Round Up Stem Cell Therapy Helps Broken Hearts Heal in Unexpected Way – Cardiac stem cell therapy has been shown to enhance function in damaged hearts by triggering an inflammatory-based wound healing response, rather than by producing new cardiomyocytes. Leaky Blood-Brain Barrier Induces Cognitive Impairments – In a pair of papers, scientists have found that the breakdown of the blood-brain barrier during aging can result in dysfunctional brain electrical activity due to increased inflammation, causing microseizure-like events and cognitive decline. Revolutionizing Injury Recovery with Tendon Stem Cells – Investigators have discovered the existence of tendon stem cells that are able to generate new tenocytes. New Generation Exhaustion-Resistant CAR-T Cells – Researchers have identified a protein that, when overexpressed in CAR T cells, enables the cells to overcome exhaustion and increase their effectiveness. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Camilla Forsberg Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Peter Zandstra is the Director of the School of Biomedical Engineering at the University of British Columbia. His lab focuses on stem cell bioengineering, applying engineering design principles, computational modeling, and fundamental stem cell biology to study the mechanisms that control stem cell fate, and to develop technologies for the propagation of stem cells and their derivatives. Featured Products and Resources: mTeSR™ Plus Science in the City – Vancouver The Stem Cell Science Round Up AI Used to Predict Stem Cell Organization – Machine learning was used to predict and control the spatial organization of pluripotent stem cells. Hypoxia Regulates Lymphoid Development – Scientists have found that low O2 levels promotes lymphoid development in hematopoietic progenitor cells. Genetic Mutation Protects against Diabetes – Loss of function of a gene that encodes a zinc transporter protein has been found to reduce the risk of type 2 diabetes by enhancing insulin secretion from the pancreas. Important Role for Rare Cells in Hematopoiesis – Investigators have identified the importance of a rare population of endothelial cells for controlling hematopoiesis and regeneration after irradiation. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Peter Zandstra Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Celina Juliano is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology at the University of California, Davis. Her lab studies development and regeneration in the aquatic animal Hydra, which undergoes continual self-renewal, lacks senescence and has incredible regenerative capabilities. Featured Products and Resources: STEMCELL Technologies Antibodies STEMCELL Technologies Cytokines The Stem Cell Science Round Up Oct4 Not Needed for Creating iPSCs – Investigators have discovered that iPSCs can be created without expressing the transcription factor Oct4, which was previously considered vital for cellular reprogramming. Effect of Spaceflight on Heart Cells – When sent to the International Space Station, iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes readily adapted to microgravity by altering their gene expression, but returned to normal when back on Earth. Stem Cell Transplants Used to Grow Lungs – Scientists generated functional lungs in mice by transplanting stem cells into genetically defective mouse embryos. Lymphatic System Key in Hair Regeneration – Investigators have found that stem cells reshape their lymphatic niche to coordinate tissue regeneration. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Celina Juliano Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Rameen Shakur is a Jansen Fellow in Cardiology and Personalized Medicine at the Koch Institute for Integrative Science at MIT, and the Founder of Cambridge Heartwear Ltd. His academic research focuses on modeling and understanding cardiac development using iPSCs. Insights from his basic and clinical research spurred the development of Cambridge Heartwear Ltd., a medical device and algorithm company that uses AI and computer science for cardiovascular health. Featured Products and Resources: Webinar: Modeling Arrhythmias Using hPSC-Derived Cardiomyocytes and Tracking Their Excitability STEMdiff™ Cardiomyocyte The Stem Cell Science Round Up New and Improved Genome Editing Tool – A new DNA editing technique, called prime editing, has been developed that doesn’t require double-strand breaks or donor DNA templates, overcoming some of the limitations of CRISPR. Regulating Regeneration in Cold-Blooded Animals – Scientists have identified a gene that gives cold-blooded animals the ability to regenerate limbs, and suggest that the gene was lost by warm-blooded animals throughout evolution. Mapping the Brain Development of Great Apes – Using human and ape brain organoids, investigators have found that human brains develop more slowly than ape brains, and identified human-specific gene expression. Special Cells Help Regenerate Heart in Zebrafish – Researchers have identified a subset of cardiomyocytes in adult zebrafish that were shown to play a role in heart regeneration. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Rameen Shakur Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Stephane Angers is a Professor and Associate Dean of Research in the Leslie Dan Faculty of Pharmacy at the University of Toronto. He is an expert in the field of signal transduction, working to understand the signaling mechanisms underlying the Wnt and Hedgehog families of growth factors and the large family of G protein-coupled receptors. Featured Products and Resources: Webinar: Using Social Media to Advance Your Scientific Career Cancer Stem Cell News The Stem Cell Science Round Up First-Ever Map of the Developing Human Liver – Investigators have created the first-ever human developmental liver cell atlas, which provides insights into how the blood and immune systems develop. Engineering Vascularized Brain Organoids – Scientists have developed a method to induce vasculature in brain organoids, improving oxygen and nutrient delivery and allowing them to live longer. Improved Culture Method for Expanding Hematopoietic Stem Cells – Using a zwitterionic hydrogel, investigators achieved substantial expansion of human hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells, and may be used to improve the effectiveness of HSC therapies. Using Tumor Organoids to Predict Chemo Response – Researchers have developed a method to test drugs in tumor-derived organoids to determine how a cancer patient will respond to chemotherapy. Development of a Rectal Cancer Organoid Platform – The first human tumor-derived model for studying rectal cancer has been developed and was used to study the effects of chemoradiation. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Stephane Angers Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Paul Burridge is a Professor in Pharmacology at Northwestern University’s Feinberg School of Medicine. Dr. Burridge’s lab uses human iPSCs and other next-gen technologies in pharmacogenomics, disease modeling, and regenerative medicine. Currently, they are focusing on modeling chemotherapy-induced cardiomyopathy using hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, and fibroblasts to study drug toxicity effects. Featured Products and Resources: STEMdiffTM Cardiomyocyte Media Stem Cell Podcast Newsletter The Stem Cell Science Round Up World’s First Three-Organoid System – Scientists have created a functional connected system of liver, pancreas and bile duct organoids, and used the system to study human endoderm organogenesis. Identifying Cancer-Related Mutations – Investigators have developed a strategy to identify cancer-related point mutations in primed and naive human PSCs. Senescence in Dopaminergic Neurons – A DNA binding protein has been shown to prevent cellular senescence in dopaminergic neurons, and loss of the protein may contribute to Parkinson’s disease. Gene Editing for Fanconi Anemia – Researchers have used CRISPR/Cas9-mediated genome editing to correct mutations in HSCs from patients with Fanconi anemia. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Paul Burridge Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Intro: Back in June 2019, we attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research’s (ISSCR) annual conference in Los Angeles, California! Here is the last of three special episodes featuring interviews with some of the top researchers in the stem cell field, as well as with up-and-coming junior trainees who were challenged by Daylon to summarize their research in one minute. Junior Trainees: We asked junior trainees to summarize their research in only one minute. Take a listen to the episode, and vote in our Twitter poll for the researcher that did the best job! You’ll hear from: Hannah Black; Undergraduate Researcher Assistant, University of Southern California Ana Rita Leitoguinho; Graduate Student, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Aaron Sandoval; Undergraduate Student, University of Florida Oriana Genolet; Graduate Student, Max Planck Institute Senior Researchers: Dr. Justin Ichida, PhD; Assistant Professor, University of Southern California Dr. Justin Ichida focuses on developing in vitro models of human neurodegenerative diseases by converting patients’ cells into disease-affected neural cells. Dr. Irving Weissman, MD; Director, Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Dr. Irv Weissman is a pioneer in the field of hematopoietic stem cell biology and cancer research. Currently, he is studying the potential of CD47 as a cancer therapeutic, and identifying cancer stem cells from a variety of blood and solid cancers.   Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Pekka Katajisto is an Associate Professor at the University of Helsinki and at the Karolinska Institutet. His laboratory studies both stem cell intrinsic and extrinsic mechanisms altering tissue renewal capacity, and how such mechanisms ultimately result in the functional decline we recognize as aging. They mainly focus on the intestinal epithelium, studying asymmetric cell division, cellular metabolism and cell fate, and the stem cell niche. Featured Products and Resources: Intestinal Cell News Organoid Research Techniques E-Book Resources and Links An In-Vitro Model of Human Neurulation – A new reproducible, self-organizing model of human neurulation has been developed and used to model the early development of Huntington’s disease. 3D Printed Organ Building Blocks – Researchers have developed a biomanufacturing method using patient-specific organoids as building blocks to develop organ-specific tissues at therapeutic scales. Engineering a T Cell Therapy for Cancer – To increase the levels of invariant natural killer T (iNKT) cells in cancer patients, scientists generated HSC-engineered iNKT cells which were able to suppress tumor growth in a mouse model. CAR T-Cell Therapy Harnessed to Treat Heart Disease – While T cell immunotherapy is typically used to treat certain cancers, investigators repurposed the technology to target cardiac fibrosis in mice. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Pekka Katajisto Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Intro: Back in June 2019, we attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research’s (ISSCR) annual conference in Los Angeles, California! Here is the second of three special episodes featuring interviews with some of the top researchers in the stem cell field, as well as with up-and-coming junior trainees who talked to Daylon about their research and experience at the conference. Junior Trainees: We asked Junior Trainees the following question: WHAT IS THE GREATEST CHALLENGE CURRENTLY FACING THE STEM CELL RESEARCH FIELD? Ojeni Touma; Intern, California Institute for Regenerative Medicine Oriana Genolet; Graduate Student, Max Planck Institute Alejandro Torres; Graduate Student, University of California, Los Angeles Vivian Lu; Graduate Student, University of California, Los Angeles Aaron Sandoval; Undergraduate Student, University of Florida Sanjay Kumar; Scientist, Christian Medical College, India Ana Rita Leitoguinho; Graduate Student, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute Namisha Mazumdar; Undergraduate Student, University of Southern California Senior Researchers: Dr. Leonard Zon, MD; Principal Investigator, Harvard Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Dr. Leonard Zon is the founder of the International Society of Stem Cell Research, and is a pioneer in the fields of stem cell biology and cancer genetics. His lab uses the zebrafish model for researching hematopoiesis, and to screen for oncogenes and proteins. Dr. Ting Chen, PhD; Assistant Investigator, National Institute of Biological Sciences, Beijing Dr. Ting Chen studies epithelial regeneration, using mice as a genetic model. Her lab focuses on stem cell self-renewal mechanisms and fate specification. Dr. Dieter Egli, PhD; Assistant Professor, Columbia University Before iPSC technology, Dr. Egli used somatic cell nuclear transfer on human cells to generate stem cells. His current work focuses on deriving pluripotent stem cells for various purposes, including using human derived beta cells to study diabetes. Dr. Roger Barker, PhD; Professor, University of Cambridge Dr. Barker works on the clinical aspects of Parkinson’s and Huntington’s disease, including the study of disease heterogeneity using cognitive testing, functional imaging and genetic biomarkers.   Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Alysson Muotri is a Professor in the Departments of Pediatrics and Cellular & Molecular Medicine at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) School of Medicine, and Co-Director of the UCSD Stem Cell Program. His research focuses on modeling neurological diseases using human iPSCs, and he is leading a project investigating the effect of microgravity on human brain organoids. Featured Products and Resources: STEMdiff™ Cerebral Organoid Kit Organoid Research Resources Resources and Links Detecting an Unreported Zika Outbreak using Genetics – By sequencing Zika virus and analyzing travel patterns, a previously unreported 2017 Zika outbreak in Cuba has been identified. Ketogenic Diet Supports Intestinal Stem Cell Proliferation – Researchers have found that ketone bodies enhance the activity of intestinal stem cells, while a glucose-rich diet has the opposite effect. Cancer Cells ‘Corrupt’ Their Healthy Neighbours – Scientists have developed a technique whereby metastatic cancer cells release a cell-penetrating fluorescent protein, allowing them to study the tumor microenvironment. 3D Heart Cell-on-Chip Platform – Investigators have developed an organ-on-an-electronic-chip platform, which uses biosensors to measure the electrophysiology of 3D cardiac spheroids. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Alysson Muotri Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe