The Stem Cell Podcast

Guests: Dr. Laura Andres-Martin is a Research Investigator, Oncology, Dr. Daniel Paul is the Senior VP, Discovery & Platform Development, and Dr. Raeka Aiyar is the VP, Scientific & DEIB Outreach at the New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF). This episode was recorded live and in-person at the NYSCF Research Institute. The panelists talk about NYSCF’s approach to automation, their women’s reproductive cancer initiative, and promoting inclusion and belonging in science. They also talk about Founder Susan Solomon’s legacy and future plans to break down barriers in stem cell research. Photo Reference: Courtesy of NYSCF Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Nathaniel Huebsch is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at Washington University in St. Louis. His lab focuses on understanding how mechanical cues originating at cell-cell and cell-extracellular matrix contacts influence signaling and fate. They are especially interested in how those cues affect heart development and disease. He talks about cardiac models and cardiomyocyte maturity. Featured Products and Resources: Use STEMCELL’s STEMdiff Cardiomyocyte media and supplements to differentiate, enrich, expand, and cryopreserve functional hPSC-derived cardiomyocytes. Explore STEMCELL’s Organoid Information Hub. The Stem Cell Science Round Up Modeling Early Development – Peri-gastruloids model human post-implantation development into early organogenesis. Fatty Acid Synthesis in Endoderm Differentiation – Researchers identified a fatty acid synthesis/oxidation shift during early differentiation. Editing HSCs In Vivo – Scientists designed a strategy to reprogram bone marrow stem cells directly within the body without the need for donor cells or the use of potentially toxic conditioning regimens. T Cell Therapy for Solid Tumors – Gavo-cel is an engineered T cell therapy tested in patients with mesothelin-expressing solid tumors. Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Thomas Durcan is an Associate Professor and Director of the Early Drug Discovery Unit at the Montreal Neurological Institute. He oversees a team of 40+ research staff and students, committed to applying patient-derived stem cells towards the development of phenotypic discovery assays and 3D neuronal organoid models for neurodegenerative and neurodevelopmental disorders. He talks about modeling sporadic ALS in a dish, partnering with the Michael J. Fox Foundation, and promoting open science. Featured Products and Resources: See the Stem Cell Podcast live at the New York Stem Cell Foundation! Learn about the STEMdiff™ Cerebral Organoid Kit from STEMCELL Technologies The Stem Cell Science Round Up SARS-CoV-2 in the Placenta – Researchers developed induced trophoblast stem cell models to study placental models of infection. Hematopoietic Stem and Progenitor Cells in the Embryo – Loss of microRNA-128 in zebrafish leads to an expansion of hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells in the aorta–gonad–mesonephros. Cochlear Organoids – Derived hair cells exhibit cochlear-like structural and functional properties. Cell Replacement in a Chimeric Mouse Brain – Old or diseased human glial cells in the chimeric mouse brain are eliminated by transplanted young cells. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Thomas Durcan Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

In June 2023, we attended ISSCR 2023, the annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, in Boston. We spoke with delegates about their research and impressions of the meeting, including their reasons for attending, what they were most looking forward to, and the most memorable research presented. Featured Products and Resources: Register for a live, in-person podcast recording at the New York Stem Cell Foundation Research Institute. Prepare for your next conference. Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Thomas Zwaka is the Director of the Huffington Center for Cell-Based Research in Parkinson’s Disease and a Professor of Regenerative and Developmental Biology at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai. His research focuses on fundamental questions surrounding stem cell biology, including how to reverse the process of differentiation and “re-program” any given cell type into a pluripotent stem cell. He talks about his lab’s work using bat iPSCs to study viruses. Featured Products and Resources: Save time and keep current with ESC & iPSC News. Explore ways to assess your hPSCs and learn about essential qualities and attributes to consider for gene editing, disease modeling, and maintenance. The Stem Cell Science Round Up A New Base Editing Technology – Scientists have developed a novel adenine transversion editor capable of efficient A·T-to-C·G base editing. Exploring Hypertrophic Cardiomyopathy – Researchers investigated the genotype-phenotype relationship in siblings with a family history of hypertrophic cardiomyopathy. A Preclinical Model for Parkinson’s Disease – A new optogenetic method induces α-syn aggregates in Parkinson’s disease neurons and organoids. A Stem Cell Zoo – Scientists have recapitulated the segmentation clock of six mammals using PSCs. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Thomas Zwaka Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: In June 2023, Daylon and Arun attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research’s (ISSCR) annual meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the final day of the meeting. In this episode, they discuss some of the research presented during Concurrent Track E, as well as Plenary V and VI, which were focused on modeling development and disease and clinical applications, respectively. Lastly, they discuss their experience meeting and recording podcast episodes with delegates from the meeting. Featured Products and Resources: Explore resources to find out how you can access and maintain high-quality hPSC cultures. Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: In June 2023, Daylon and Arun attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research’s (ISSCR) annual meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the third day of the meeting. In this episode, they discuss the research presented throughout Concurrent Tracks C & D, as well as some of the meeting drama that resulted. They also highlight Plenary IV, which was focused on niche regulation of differentiation and regeneration, and discuss the podcast’s Meet Up Hub event, giving a shout-out to some of the attendees that dropped by. Featured Products and Resources: Watch Dr. Andrew Gaffney and Erin Knock discuss the generation of a standardized iPSC line. Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: In June 2023, Daylon and Arun attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research’s (ISSCR) annual meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the second day of the meeting. In this episode, they discuss Concurrent Tracks A & B and highlight some of the research on epigenetic regulation of distinct cell states presented during Plenary III. Featured Products and Resources: Explore free, self-paced, online training courses to move your research forward. Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: In June 2023, Daylon and Arun attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research’s (ISSCR) annual meeting in Boston, Massachusetts, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the first day of the meeting. In this episode, they discuss the pre-meeting workshops, including Arun’s own talk on stem cell research in space, as well as highlights from the morning’s focus sessions and innovation showcases. They also dive into the Presidential Symposium and the new technologies presented in Plenary II. Featured Products and Resources: Explore STEMCELL’s on-demand webinars. Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Emma Rawlins is a Senior Group Leader at the Gurdon Institute in the Department of Physiology, Development, and Neuroscience at the University of Cambridge. She talks about modeling fetal lung development using organoids, using single-cell RNA sequencing to create a human lung fetal atlas, and her advice to trainees to follow their hearts. Featured Products and Resources: Register for the ISSCR 2023 annual meeting Model the human respiratory system in vivo using PneumaCult™ The Stem Cell Science Round Up In Vivo Reprogramming of Astrocytes into Neurons – Researchers refute that Ptbpt1 deletion induces astrocyte-to-neuron conversion. A Parkinson’s Drug for ALS  – Clinical trial results show that the Parkinson’s disease drug ropinirole delays ALS progression. Establishment of the Adult Blood System – Researchers identified miR-223 as a negative regulator of murine hemogenic endothelial cell specification and myelopoiesis. Modeling Preneoplasia in Gastric Organoids – Gastric organoids with inactivated TP53, a common early event in gastric cancer, were created to model the earliest events in human tumor initiation. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Emma Rawlins. Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe