The Stem Cell Podcast

Guests: In this special episode, Daylon and Arun chat with Drs. Jason Goldsmith and Brenda Raud, the hosts of The Immunology Podcast. Recorded in-person and led by Dr. Nicole Quinn from STEMCELL Technologies, the four hosts discuss the impact that podcasting has had on their careers and how it can make science and scientists more accessible. They also talk about the future of science communication and advice for young scientists pursuing careers in academia and industry. Featured Products and Resources: Keep current with the latest cell biology research. Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Clive Svendsen is the Executive Director of the Regenerative Medicine Institute at Cedars-Sinai. His lab uses stem cells to develop models and treatments for neurodegenerative diseases. He talks about using stem cells to model spinal muscular atrophy and the blood-brain barrier, and his cell-gene therapy trial for ALS. Featured Products and Resources: Keep current with the latest neural cell research. Take a 10-minute cell therapy survey The Stem Cell Science Round Up Embryonic Angiogenesis – Monocytes deposit migrasomes to promote angiogenesis in chick embryos. Stem Cell Crosstalk with the Microenvironment – Ras drives malignancy in squamous cell carcinoma through aberrant crosstalk between cancer stem cells and their microenvironment. The Extracellular Matrix and Naive Pluripotency – A three-dimensional extracellular matrix-rich environment preserves long-term feeder-free naive hiPSC self-renewal. Cell Senescence in Alzheimer’s Disease – Alzheimer’s disease brains have high proportions of neurons that express senescence markers. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Clive Svendsen Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Shuibing Chen is the Kilts Family Professor of Surgery at Weill Cornell Medicine. Her lab uses hiPSCs and ESCs for disease modeling and drug screening, with a focus on diabetes and infectious diseases such as Zika and SARS-CoV-2. She talks about her recent genome-wide association study in a dish, the role of philanthropic funding in stem cell research, and the role of industry partnerships in translational research. Featured Products and Resources: Take your human pluripotent stem cell cultures further with mTeSR™ Plus Take a 10-minute cell therapy survey The Stem Cell Science Round Up Rethinking Hippo Signaling – Scientists found that Hippo signaling is not needed for normal organ growth. Muscle Stem Cell Regeneration – Researchers identified a subset of dysfunctional aged muscle stem cells with elevated levels of CD47. Inner Ear Organoids – Scientists used organoids to investigate how CHD7 mutations affect inner ear development. Islet Transplants Without Immunosuppression – Simultaneous hematopoietic cell and islet transplantation corrects diabetes in mice. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Shuibing Chen Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Paola Arlotta is the Golub Family Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University. She is interested in understanding the molecular laws that govern the birth, differentiation, and assembly of the human brain’s cerebral cortex.  She talks about using organoids to study the genetics of autism. She also discusses single-cell sequencing of brain organoids and how to make single-cell sequencing methods and data more accessible. Featured Products and Resources: Enter to win up to $500 USD towards your registration fee for a cell and gene therapy conference. Explore STEMCELL Technologies’ collection of technical videos and webinars on neurological disease modeling. The Stem Cell Science Round Up Reactivating Neurons After Paralysis – Scientists identified a population of excitatory interneurons that are essential for the recovery of walking with epidural electrical stimulation following spinal cord injury. Lamin A/C, Chromatin Organization, and Cardiomyopathy – Researchers uncovered divergent functions of lamin A/C in naïve pluripotent stem cells and cardiomyocytes. HSC Colonization of the Bone Marrow – Scientists identified ligand-receptor pairs likely to be involved in fetal HSC migration and maintenance. Rhinoceros Organoids – Researchers generated iPSCs from a Sumatran rhino, characterized them comprehensively, and differentiated them into cerebral organoids. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Paola Arlotta Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Jacob Hanna is an Associate Professor at the Weizmann Institute of Science and investigates cellular reprogramming and embryogenesis. This episode features a discussion on the challenges of growing embryo models in a roller culture system and the feasibility of making human gametes. Dr. Hanna also talks about launching the startup, Renewal Bio, the ethical discussions surrounding stem cell-derived embryos, and creating a more inclusive and equitable scientific community. Featured Products and Resources: Enter to win up to $500 USD towards your registration fee for a cell and gene therapy conference. Take your human pluripotent stem cell cultures further with mTeSR™ Plus. The Stem Cell Science Round Up Oocytes Store mRNAs around Mitochondria – Researchers discovered that mammalian oocytes store maternal mRNAs around the mitochondria in a membraneless compartment with hydrogel-like properties. Skeletal Stem/Progenitor Cells in Bone Injury Repair – Different cell types are primarily responsible for repairing different types of bone injuries. How Glioblastoma Stem Cells Drive Cancer Progression – Glioblastoma stem cell-secreted histamine promotes glioblastoma progression by increasing angiogenesis. Organogenesis in a Dish – Scientists engineered vascularized, perfusable human enteroids to model innate immune responses in inflammatory bowel disease. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Jacob Hanna Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Stefan Irion is the Senior Vice President of Research at BlueRock Therapeutics, a leading engineered cell therapy company with a mission to develop regenerative medicines for intractable diseases. He talks about the company’s Parkinson’s disease trial and the challenges of genetically manipulating stem cells. He also discusses his journey from physician to scientist and his personal connection to Parkinson’s disease. Featured Products and Resources: Keep current with the latest in cell therapy news. Enter to win up to $500 USD towards your registration fee for a cell and gene therapy conference. The Stem Cell Science Round Up Human Cortical Organoids in Rat Brains – hiPSC-derived cortical organoids were transplanted into newborn rat brains, where they developed mature cell types that integrate into sensory and motivation-related circuits. Genome-Wide Association Studies in a Dish – Scientists used hiPSC-based screening to identify a new susceptibility locus for viral infection. Exploring HSC Expansion – Researchers found only limited HSC expansion in the fetal liver, challenging the widely-accepted dogma that the fetal liver is an expansion niche for HSCs during ontogeny. Mini-Bones to Model Cancer Metastasis – Scientists generated human mini-bones to model bone-developing tumors using patient-derived materials. Photo Reference: Courtesy of BlueRock Therapeutics Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Jun Wu is an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas Southwestern. The Wu lab uses interspecies chimeras to study fundamental biology: conserved and divergent developmental programs, determination of body and organ size, species barriers, and cancer resistance. They are also working to develop new applications for regenerative medicine. He talks about developmental compatibility between species, and the similarities and differences between blastoid models and blastocyts. He also discusses the challenges of growing human cells in animals, and human-monkey chimeric embryos. Featured Products and Resources: Keep Current with the Latest in Organoid News. Download STEMCELL Technologies’ new e-book on Organoid Research Techniques The Stem Cell Science Round Up CAR T Therapy for Fungal Infections – CAR T cells can treat invasive pulmonary aspergillosis in preclinical models. Stem Cell Quality Control – Scientists discovered that macrophages “cuddle” stem cells upon their arrival to the niche and kill cells with high levels of a stress-activiated protein. Vaccination for Liver and Lung Fibrosis – Vaccination mounts T cell responses that reduce liver and lung fibrosis in mice. Controlling Cell Growth with Light – Scientists developed an optogenetic tool to control apical constriction in mammalian tissues. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Jun Wu Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Edward Grow is an Assistant Professor at the University of Texas, Southwestern. His lab studies reproductive biology, specifically the development of the egg and subsequently the fertilized embryo. He talks about regulating totipotency in ESCs, retroviral reactivation, and ex vivo culturing of follicles and oocytes. Featured Products and Resources: Keep Current with the Latest in ESC and iPSC News. Reduce Medium Acidosis with mTeSR™ Plus. The Stem Cell Science Round Up Controlling Cell State Transitions – Researchers developed a model that identifies the core signaling networks controlling cell fate transitions. Modeling Human Heart Development – Scientists used single-cell RNA sequencing to examine the subtypes of cardiomyocytes in the mammalian heart. Fetal HSC Expansion and Differentiation – Researchers used in vivo genetic tracing in mice to analyze the formation of HSCs and progenitors from intra-arterial hematopoietic clusters. T Cells in Humanized Mice – Mice engrafted with human thymus organoids can serve as a new animal model to study human T cell-mediated immunity. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Edward Grow Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Prisca Liberali is a Senior Group Leader at the Friedrich Miescher Institute for Biomedical Research and an Assistant Professor at the University of Basel. Her research aims to understand the collective properties of organoid systems and their patterns, including how these systems allow systematic perturbation by established methods for modulating gene expression. She studies self-organization, symmetry breaking, intestinal organoid development, gastruloids, and mechanosensing mechanisms. Featured Products and Resources: CRISPR-Cas9 Genome Editing of Human Intestinal Organoids Add Intestinal Organoids to Your Research with IntestiCult™ The Stem Cell Science Round Up Synthetic Embryo Develops Beating Heart – Researchers have created synthetic mouse embryos that show evidence of a brain and a beating heart. A Step Forward for Non-Human Primate iPSC Research – Scientists have shown the initial viability of an embryo that contains both chimpanzee and macaque cells. A Step Towards Human Kidney Organoids – Researchers have developed a highly efficient, serum-free method for differentiating hPSCs into uretic bud organoids and functional collecting duct cells. A Role for Mitochondrial Fission in the Expansion of Muscle Stem Cells – New research shows that mitochondrial dynamics are essential for the successful regenerative capacity of satellite cells. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Prisca Liberali Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guests: Drs. Tenneille Ludwig, Peter Andrews, and Madeline Lancaster are members of the ISSCR Standards Initiative for Pluripotent Stem Cell Research. They discuss the need for basic and preclinical standards to ensure rigor and reproducibility in stem cell research. They also talk about standards for pluripotency and model systems, and the initiative’s international focus. Featured Products and Resources: Take Your Cells Further with mTeSR™ Plus. Explore Ways to Assess Your Human Pluripotent Stem Cells The Stem Cell Science Round Up Growing Synthetic Embryos – Scientists generated synthetic mouse embryos from naive ESCs. Live Sequencing to Preserve Cell Viability – Live-seq enables single-cell transcriptome profiling as well as downstream molecular and functional analyses on the same cell at distinct time points. An Atlas for the Failing Heart – Researchers performed single-nucleus RNA sequencing on heart samples from patients with cardiomyopathies and controls without structural heart disease. Pluripotency-Associated MAPs Shared Between iPSCs and Cancer Cells – Scientists identified a set of pluripotency-associated MHC I-associated peptides (MAPs) absent from the transcriptome of normal tissues and adult stem cells, but expressed in PSCs and multiple adult cancers. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Drs. Tenneille Ludwig, Peter Andrews, and Madeline Lancaster Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe