Contributors

Centre for Vision and Vascular Science, Queen's University Belfast

Reinhold trained as a medical doctor and then studied Stem Cell Biology during his Ph.D. studies at Okayama University, JAPAN. Currently, he is a lecturer at the Centre for Vision and Vascular Science, Queen’s University Belfast, UK, where his research focuses on the therapeutic potential of endothelial progenitor cells for ischaemic retinopathies.

Roberto obtained his PhD at the university of Nice Sophia-Antipolis in France where he worked in Dr. Andreas Schedl's lab. His PhD work focused on the role of WT1 gene in urogenital development and homeostasis. From February 2013, he is a postdoctoral fellow in the lab of Dr. Michaela Fry at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute in the UK. His project aims at unravelling how skin stem cells regulate their gene expression at both transcriptional and post transcriptional levels. He is helping EuroStemCells with Italian translation since the end of 2014.

MRC National Institute for Medical Research

Dr Robin Lovell-Badge is Head of the Division of Stem Cell Biology and Developmental Genetics at the MRC National Institute for Medical Research in London, UK. His research group is interested in how stem cells differentiate into the specialised cells of the testis or ovary during embryonic development. The group also studies stem cell types, including pluripotent stem cells from very early embryos (ES cells) or after reprogramming from adult cells (iPS cells), and multipotent stem cells from the developing and adult central nervous system and pituitary. Certain genes are critical for self-renewal and to confer potential to stem cells. The Lovell-Badge lab explores how these genes impact on cell fate choices, and how they might be exploited to aid the treatment of a range of clinical problems, such as stroke and cancer.

University of Cambridge

Addenbrooke's Hospital

TRANSEURO

Roger A. Barker is the Professor of Clinical Neuroscience and Honorary Consultant in Neurology at the University of Cambridge and at Addenbrooke's Hospital.  He trained at Oxford and London and has been in his current position for over ten years having completed an MRC Clinician Scientist Fellowship just prior to this.  His main interests are in the neurodegenerative disorders of the nervous system in particular Parkinson's disease and Huntington's disease.  He combines basic research looking at novel therapies (including cell transplants) to treat these conditions with clinically based work on defining the natural history and heterogeneity of both Huntington's disease and Parkinson's disease and is the co-ordinator of the FP7 TRANSEURO project looking at fetal cell grafting in patients with early Parkinson's.

NUI Galway

Ruairi works as a Commercialisation Executive at NUI Galway, helping researchers in the regenerative medicine space to identify, protect and commercialise Intellectual Property emanating from their research. Ruairi has much experience regarding the patenting and commercialisation stem cells. Prior to his current position, he worked as a senior scientist with Stem Cell Sciences (Edinburgh) and completed his MBA dissertation on "the commercialisation of life science patents - a case study in embryonic stem cell research". Ruairi has a BSc from NUI Galway, a PhD from the University of Glasgow and an MBA from Edinburgh University.

Contributing Scientific Writer and Illustrator

Ryan Lewis is a science writer and scientific illustrator that regularly contributes content to EuroStemCell. Ryan has a broad scientific background from chemistry to neuroscience, molecular biology and biophysics; he has a BSc in chemistry from Syracuse University, a PhD in Biochemistry, Molecular Biology from Cornell University and experience working as a postdoctoral research fellow at the University of Edinburgh. In 2014 Ryan decided to combine his academic training with his passion for the arts by creating ScideLight, his science communication business. His background in the sciences and artistic and writing abilities allow Ryan to turn complex scientific discoveries and ideas into easily accessible illustrations and written content. Ryan has clients from around the world and also has worked on scientific public engagement projects with organisations such as ASCUS Art & Science Ltd.

Centre for Regenerative Medicine

Sabine is currently a PhD Student at the Centre for Regenerative Medicine in Edinburgh in the lab of Dr Steven Pollard, where she is using synthetic biology tools to reprogramme skin cells to neural stem cells of the brain. In her previous work at the UCL Cancer Institute in London, Sabine tried to decipher the links between neural stem cells and their malignant counterparts in brain cancer to find novel treatments for the disease. Keen on communicating a nuanced view on scientific research with the wider public, Sabine has a profound interest in science communication.

Sandra did her postdoc in the laboratory of Dr. Michaela Frye, at the Wellcome Trust - MRC Stem Cell Institute - University of Cambridge (UK), studying different aspects of stem cell biology and RNA biology. She studied the role of RNA m⁵C-mehyltation in stem cell functions and its impact on neuro-developmental disorders and in cancer. Her projects were supported by Ramón Areces and EMBO postdoctoral fellowships. Then she moved to CIC bioGUNE in Spain as a Ramón y Cajal junior investigator. Now she is establishing her group as a CSIC junior PI at the Cancer Research Centre in Spain, studying the role of post-transcriptional modifications in cancer and cancer-initiating cells. She combines her interest in science with volunteering as a translator for EuroStemCell and on the organising committee for Cayso (Cancer and society) association.

Bradley Research Group, University of Edinburgh

Sara is a PhD student in the Bradley research group at the University of Edinburgh. Her research project focuses on the development of 3D polymer microarrays, which holds potential applications for improving the growth and maintenance of stem cells. 

University of Edinburgh

Sarah is an undergraduate student at the University of Edinburgh. She is currently studying Immunobiology, with interests lying with science communication.

REMEDI

Sean Small is a Communications and Research Assistant based at the Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) at the National University of Ireland, Galway in Ireland.   He worked on our stem cell map, researching and summarizing the law and regulation of stem cell research in Europe.

Sean is an LL.M graduate of the National University of Ireland, Galway, having completed a master’s thesis on the international law and regulation of stem cell research.  He also holds honours LL.B and B.A in Legal Science & History from NUIG.   His previous experience includes journalism and administration.

UCL Institute of Neurology

Selina Wray is an Alzheimer's Research UK research fellow based at UCL Institute of Neurology.  Her research aims to understand the molecular basis of Alzheimer's Disease and other forms of dementia using stem cells as a model.

IRB Lleida

Serafi achieved his PhD in Neurobiology at the Universitat de Lleida. He was awarded a postdoctoral ESTOOLS fellowship and did his postdoc at the MRC Clinical Sciences Centre, in London, under the supervision of Dr. Tristan Rodriguez and Dr. Meng Li. His research focused on stem cell differentiation towards cortical interneurons. He is currently a postdoctoral investigator of the Clinical Neurosciences group at the IRB Lleida.

Shiau Haln is a final year Medical Sciences undergraduate at the University of Edinburgh and hopes to pursue a career in science communication after graduation. She is particularly interested in engaging the public with science, through words and exhibitions.

Siddharth Kankaria graduated from the Indian Institute of Science's 4-year Bachelor of Science (Research) program in Biology, and is currently pursuing a MSc in Science Communication & Public Engagement from the University of Edinburgh, UK. He also works as a Content Editor for Research Media Services of Gubbi Labs, where he combines his training in science and his passion for art, to communicate scientific concepts and ideas using novel forms of media.

Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences

Euan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Research

Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic

Prof Siddharthan Chandran is the MacDonald Professor and Head of Neurology at the University of Edinburgh. He is Director of the Centre for Clinical Brain Sciences and the Euan MacDonald Centre for Motor Neurone Disease Research, and co-Director of the the Anne Rowling Regenerative Neurology Clinic and Centre for Multiple Sclerosis Research. Prof Chandran is a clinical neurologist who combines specialist clinics with laboratory research on human stem cells. His main laboratory research interests lie in the interaction between glia and neurons in health and disease.

UCL Institute of Ophthalmology

Dr Silke Becker is a postdoctoral scientist at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology, where she works on cell-based treatments of retinal diseases. She investigates new techniques for the transplantation of stem cells to replace neurons in the retina.

During Sílvia's PhD in Regenerative Medicine at the Center for Regenerative Therapies, Germany, she worked in Marius Ader's lab, using mouse embryonic stem cells to generate retinal organoids with the objective to obtain transplantable photoreceptors. Currently she is a PostDoc at the Center for Genomic Regulation (CRG), using human pluripotent stem cells to understand human germline development. She likes to be involved in symposium organisation and science communication activities.

Institute for Stem Cell Research, University of Edinburgh

Simon Tomlinson’s group uses bioinformatics to gain understanding of key molecular features of stem cell biology.  His research group is building a database, StemDB, used to store stem cell related information such as cell line information and expression profiling data.

IGBMC

Sophie Jarriault leads a research group at IGBMC Centre Européen de Recherche en Biologie et Médecine, studying in vivo cellular plasticity and direct reprogramming. In 2011 she received an EMBO Young Investigator Award, as part of the European Molecular Biology Organization Young Investigator Programme (EMBO YIP).

Lund Univeristy Stem Cell Centre

CardioCell

The focus of the Jovinge group is on the identification of cardiac progenitor cells, to follow their fate and investigate their therapeutic potential for cardiac diseases. In the process of investigating new therapies for heart disease, Jovinge's research group is studying the mechanisms of certain types of heart damage: inflammatory mechanisms in plaque rupture and myocardial inflammation.

Stefan Jovinge is coordinator of the European Commission funded research consortium CardioCell.

Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, Modena, Italy

Stefania started working with rare diseases in 2007, when she became Communication and Fundraising Manager at DEBRA Italy, the national association of patients affected by Epidermolysis Bullosa. There she managed the branding and communication strategy, including the website, media relations and public engagement, and approached the stem cell world.

Currently she manages external relations and communication at Holostem Terapie Avanzate, a spin-off of the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia, at the Centre for Regenerative Medicine “Stefano Ferrari” and at the Interdepartmental Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, also in the University of Modena and Reggio Emilia. She has extensive experience in external relations with patients, institutions and media. She has experience managing communication strategies in different contexts: rare disease; local politics and administration; civil protection emergencies and activities and in music, as she is also the Press Officer of Francesco Guccini, a popular Italian singer, for the film La mia Thule.

Stefania’s PhD was in “Environmental quality and regional economic development”, during which she taught courses in cultural geography, as well as producing papers and book chapters. She has a Masters in Environmental Politics and her degree was in Literature from the University of Milan, with a thesis in cultural geography.

German Stem Cell Network

Stefanie Mahler is the Coordinator Communication for the German Stem Cell Network, responsible for media relations and public engagement activities for the network.

Wellcome Trust-MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute

Centre for Brain Repair, University of Cambridge

After receiving his MD (1995) and PhD in Neuroscience (2004) from the University of Siena (Italy), Stefano completed a residency program in Neurology at the same University (1999) and received additional training at the Brain Repair Centre, Cambridge University, UK (1996-1998). He then completed two Post doctoral fellowships (2004-2005) with Gianvito Martino at the San Raffaele Scientific Institute, Milan (Italy), where he progressed to the position of Project and the Group leader (2005-2010). Stefano is now a University Lecturer and Honorary Consultant in Neurology at the University of Cambridge, UK, within the Centre for Brain Repair (2010-). He is also an European Research Council (ERC) Starting Independent Researcher and member of the Department of Clinical Neurosciences. 

Current projects in the PluchinoLab are exploring the cellular and molecular mechanisms regulating the therapeutic plasticity of neural stem cells in complex CNS diseases such as multiple sclerosis, spinal cord/brain injuries and stroke. While keeping an eye on next generation stem cells, either induced pluripotent stem (iPS) or induced neural stem (iNS) cells that are being tested via classical experimental cell therapy approaches, we are also devoting special attention to the study of the different modalities by which stem cells speak with the brain and with the immune system (neuro/immune interactions).

University College London Cancer Institute

Professor Enver is Professor of Stem Cell Biology at the University College London Cancer Institute. His research career has been principally concerned with understanding the mechanisms by which tissue and developmental stage specific gene expression is achieved and regulated with early work focusing on the regulation of the b-globin gene clusters.  His current work deploys post-genomic technologies and mathematical modeling approaches to gain further insight into how blood stem cells are configured in molecular terms, the nature of the pathways involved in their cell fate decisions, and how these are corrupted by chimaeric transcription factors associated with human leukaemia.

Tiina Titma is an academic researcher at School of Information Technologies, Department of Health Technologies of Tallinn University of Technology (PhD in analytical biochemistry, MA in law and MSc in pharmacy). She is the member of Society of Toxicology (SOT), European Society of Toxicology In Vitro (ESTIV) and National contact at European Association of Health Law. Tiina`s main research interests are toxicology, metabolomics, regenerative medicine, international and health law and global governance.\

Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh

I am a Parkinson’s UK Senior Research fellow and Group Leader at the Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh. I obtained my PhD from the University of Toronto, and did post doctoral work at the University of Edinburgh before starting my laboratory in April 2007. I am interested in using human pluripotent stem cells to model neurodegenerative diseases, such as Parkinson’s, and using these stem cell models to establish drug discovery platforms.

Centre for Stem Cell Biology, University of Sheffield

Tom is a PhD student in the laboratory of Prof Peter Andrews in Sheffield, UK.  He is particularly interested in how stem cells make fate decisions and how we can use this knowledge in developing a system to monitor drug toxicity of the human embryo.

Leiden University Medical Centre

Ton Rabelink is professor in Nephrology, chair of medicine and co-director of the research theme vascular and regenerative medicine at Leiden University Medical Centre. He coordinates a number of clinical trials using stem cells for the treatment of kidney disease. He is coordinator of the EC funded project STELLAR. His main research focus is on establishing new renal replacement therapies making use of stem cells

Institute of Medical Sciences, University of Aberdeen

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Check out her illustration Facebook page

Vanessa De Mello is a public engagement intern at the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine. She is PhD student in the Musculoskeletal group at the University of Aberdeen, and works on the Hippo pathway in muscle stem cells. In her spare time she enjoys getting involved in science communication activities and also illustrates for Aberdeen’s AU science magazine.

LABEX Revive

Vania Rosas has international experience in academic R&D research and has been active in the field of EC and French project management for the last 6 years working on projects on stem cell research and regenerative medicine. She is the Project Officer of the LABEX Revive, a French initiative coordinated by the Institut Pasteur, and as a EuroStemCell partner is involved in Spanish and French translation activities - both website content and responding to patient enquiries.

The Revive consortium for stem cells in regenerative biology and medicine unites fundamental and applied stem cell researchers with selected partners from the biotechnology sector. It is structured around a dedicated research programme on stem cells, including fundamental research, disease modelling, regenerative medicine and ageing. Revive aims to federate a larger scale effort into a consortium for stem cell-based regenerative medicine and drug screening. Revive aims to foster technology transfer, training and address ethical issues in stem cell science.

More information on LABEX revive

Scope

Veronica Lynch is the Helpline Manager at the disability charity Scope. Veronica has worked at Scope for 24 years and has a organisational lead role responsibility around cerebral palsy and research. Part of her role is to research, write and develop information materials to ensure disabled people and their families have accurate, independent information about their condition, treatments,  legislation and entitlements.  Veronica has a passion for human anatomy and all things neurological.

European Medicines Agency

Veronika Ganeva has a PhD in Stem Cell and Developmental Biology from the University of Edinburgh, UK and BSc in Biochemistry and Cell Biology from International University Bremen, Germany. Her research has been focussed on early embryo development and embryonic stem cell differentiation and her main research interests include maintenance and loss of pluripotency, cell fate choices, differentiation and germ layer specification.

Veronika has volunteered for a number of projects with ESTOOLS, the University of Edinburgh Postgraduate Researcher Committee and the British Society for Cell Biology where she acted as a PhD student representative. She is passionate about encouraging and supporting a high standard of experimental science and using scientific knowledge for understanding and treating disease.

At the moment Veronika works at the European Medicines Agency (EMA) in London, in the field of drug regulatory affairs, where she helps ensure that only high-quality, safe and efficacious medicines are brought to the European market.

Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh

Dr Veronique Miron is a postdoctoral researcher in the laboratory of Professor Charles ffrench-Constant at the University of Edinburgh's Centre for Regenerative Medicine. Veronique's work focuses on understanding how myelin, the protective sheath around nerves, is regenerated in the healthy body, with the aim of identifying new approaches to treating multiple sclerosis.

Roslin Institute

Xavier Donadeu graduated with a veterinary degree from University Autonoma of Barcelona in 1993. He then went on to study an MS and PhD in reproductive biology in the USA, continuing there as a postdoctoral fellow in ovarian cell signalling. He came to Edinburgh in 2005 to work as a lecturer at the Roslin Institute, where today the focus of his work is reproductive and stem cell biology in domestic animals, particularly equine stem cells.

Laboratory of Stem Cell Dynamic, EPFL (website in French)

EPFL

Yann Barrandon, M. D., Ph. D, is a joint professor of Stem Cell Research and of Experimental Surgery at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology Lausanne (EPFL) and the University of Lausanne (UNIL) and head of the Department of Experimental Surgery at the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV).