Contributors

School of Life and Medical Sciences, UCL

Dr. Adam Giangreco has expertise in identifying and characterising endogenous pulmonary stem cells, with particular interests in lung regeneration, ageing and carcinogenesis.  He has recently developed techniques to allow in vivo assessment of lung stem cell function (Giangreco, et al. PNAS June 2009), and he is currently determining the key signalling pathways that mediate lung stem cell growth, quiescence and differentiation.  Adam is funded by a European Research Council Starting Investigator Award.

Adam Price-Evans graduated with BSc (Hons) in Biomedical Science from Cardiff University (UK). Adam is the Managing Commissioning Editor for the MEDLINE-indexed journal Regenerative Medicine, published by Future Medicine. He is the journal’s primary contact and deals with all aspects of publishing from commissioning to acceptance and also leads a team of Commissioning Editors working across a variety of Future Medicine publications. Adam is also a Content Editor for RegMedNet (sister website of Regenerative Medicine), working across a wide variety of projects and news writing.

Agnieszka is a PhD student at the University of Cambridge in Phil Jones' Lab at Hutchison / MRC Research Centre. She is enrolled in the Wellcome Trust 4-year Stem Cell PhD programme and her work focuses on investigating early changes in oesophageal progenitor cells that may lead to cancer. She was involved in various public engagement activities and helps EuroStemCell with translations into Polish.

School of Social Sciences, Monash University

Alan Petersen is Professor of Sociology, School of Social Sciences, Monash University. He researches and has published extensively in the sociology of health and medicine, science and technology studies and gender studies. His most recent book is Hope in Health: The Socio-Politics of Optimism (Palgrave Macmillan, May 2015). 

Queen's University Belfast

Alan Stitt is a Professor of Ophthalmology at Queen’s University Belfast.  His research is focused on retinal diseases that are major causes of blindness worldwide.  One such condition is diabetic eye disease and he is seeking to identify the cellular and molecular basis for retinal vascular pathology as diabetes progresses.  Professor Stitt has been researching ways to prevent or reverse diabetic retinopathy and is particularly interested in the regenerative potential of vascular stem cells. His team is currently exploring ways to translate basic science discoveries into benefits for patients.

Institute of Experimental Medicine, Academy of Sciences of the Czech Republic, v.v.i.

Aleš heads the Department of Molecular Embryology at the Institute of Experimental Medicine in the Czech Republic. Research in the department has focused on studying cells with pluripotent properties, including developing gametes and cells of embryonal origin – embryonal carcinoma cells and embryonic stem cells. The department is the first and only laboratory in the Czech Republic where cell lines (embryonic stem cells – ESC) were established from human blastocyst-stage embryos in 2003.

Alex Faulkner is Professor in Sociology of Biomedicine & Healthcare Policy at the University of Sussex, UK. He researches the regulation, valuation and uptake of technologies such as regenerative medicine, biomedical devices, bioinformatics and 3D bioprinting, in the UK, EU and India, and investigates bio-therapies in elite sport

Institute for Stem Cell Research, University of Edinburgh

Prof. Alexander Medvinsky graduated from the Moscow State University, Department of Embryology and obtained his PhD in the National Centre for Oncology, Moscow. Working in the National Centre for Haematology, Moscow he became interested in the development of haematopoietic stem cells (HSCs). In collaboration with colleagues, he identified a novel potent source of definitive haematopoietic activity inside the body of the embryo now called the AGM region and since then continues to work on the role of this organ in the development of HSCs. In 1993 he moved to the National Institute for Medical Research, London where he described important functional properties of the AGM region. In 1997 he accepted a group leader position in the Institute for Stem Cell Research and soon after that became an MRC Senior Fellow. In 2006 he was appointed as Professor in Haematopoietic Stem Cell Biology. The main focus of the Medvinsky laboratory "Ontogeny of Haematopoietic Stem Cells" is in understanding the mechanisms underlying the development of definitive HSCs.

Kennedy Krieger Institute, Johns Hopkins University, Baltimore, USA

Dr. Fatemi is a pediatric neurologist at the Kennedy Krieger Institute (KKI) at the Johns Hopkins University in Baltimore, USA. He is the head of the Experimental Cellular Therapy Program for Cerebral Palsy and the Neurogenetics Clinical Program. In the clinic, he evaluates children with cerebral palsy to identify the underlying cause of their disability. In the laboratory, he and his team investigates the role of various stem cells and precursor cells in animal models of childhood brain injuries.

STEMCELL Technologies Inc

Dr Allen Eaves founded the Terry Fox Laboratory for Haematology and Oncology Research with his wife Dr Connie Eaves and was the lab’s Director for 25 years, from 1981 to 2006. He was also Professor and Head of Clinical Haematology at the University of British Columbia for 18 years. He is now Founder, President and CEO of STEMCELL Technologies Inc.

Department of Pharmacological Sciences and Centre of Stem Cell Research (UniStem), University of Milan

Anastasia Andriotto obtained a degree in Genetics and Molecular Biology at University of Rome “Sapienza” in October 2009. She focuses on the study of the mechanisms involved in neuronal differentiation of mouse neural stem (NS) cell, and is based in the laboratory of Elena Cattaneo at the University of Milan.

Unità e Museo di Storia della Medicina, Università degli Studi di Roma «La Sapienza»

Andrea Grignolio, Ph.D. in history of science, focuses his research on the history of biomedical disciplines in twentieth-century western society, with special regard to immunology and molecular biology. In 2004 he studied at the Centre Cavaillès of École Normale Supérieure in Paris, in 2006-2007 was a Post-doctoral Fellow at the Center for Philosophy and History of Science, Boston University, and in 2009 was a visiting scholar at the Office for History of Science and Technology, UC Berkeley. He is the author of papers in international journals and editor of two volumes: Immunology Today. Three Historical Perspectives under Three Theoretical Horizons (Bononia University Press, Bologna, 2010), and Giuseppe Levi, maestro di Nobel, di scienza e di impegno civile (in press). He has been currently teaching History of Medicine at University of Rome «La Sapienza» and working at Elena Cattaneo’s Senate Office. Popularization of science remains one of his favorite side subjects which he cultivates by collaborating with the Third Programme (Radio3) of the national radio network broadcast as well as writing scientific plays (The longing to understand. The history of Barbara McClintock; readapted after Jane Cox; and Le Parole di Rita Levi Montalcini, co-authored with Valeria Patera).

German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ)

Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM)

Prof. Andreas Trumpp heads the Division of Stem Cells and Cancer at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), and is Founding Managing Director of the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM) in Heidelberg, Germany. One of the goals of his team is to elucidate the molecular and cellular basis of hematopoietic stem cell self-renewal and differentiation as well as to characterize the complex dynamic interactions within the stem cell-niche unit. In addition, the group has recently established a program to functionally characterize malignant stem cells of leukemias and carcinomas at various levels. Analysis of model systems in combination with primary patient derived samples is used to develop innovative strategies to detect and target cancer and metastasis stem cells in clinical settings.

Andreia da Costa Andrade is a Lawyer and has a Master Degree – Coimbra Law Faculty, and a Post-graduation in medical law.

She is Doctoral student in Public Law, Law Faculty of the University of Coimbra. And she has dedicated her research to legal issues on Health, biotechnologies and Biobanks. She is also Researcher and Invited lecturer at the Biomedical Law Institute (Law Faculty of the University of Coimbra).

Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust

Andrew Smith has managed a portfolio of large EU-funded projects, leading the administration of contractual and operational requirements and leaving the lead science Coordinator in each project to get on with doing the science. To 2011 at University of Sheffield he managed EStools, an integrated project in human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells led by Prof. Peter Andrews, and the medium scale IPODD led by Prof. David Grundy, and since January 2010 the development of the Marie Curie Initial Training Network TRUST led by Prof. Christopher Chapple at Sheffield Teaching Hospitals.

MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh

Anestis Tsakiridis is a postdoctoral researcher in Val Wilson’s lab, at the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine in Edinburgh, Scotland. He studies the mechanisms underlying the loss of pluripotency in the mouse embryo in vivo and how this may relate to the origins of a certain type of solid tumours called teratomas.

Speak up Scotland

Angeli Mehta is a former BBC TV producer, whose passion is science. She worked with the English Speaking Union to create the Speak Up Scotland project.  

Anna Albiero obtained her undergraduate degree in Molecular Biotechnology at the University of Trento, Italy. During her Master studies in Biomedical Studies at Leiden University, The Netherlands, she started working on adult stem cells for cartilage regeneration. In 2015 she joined the Division of Trauma and Orthopaedic Surgery in Cambridge/Stem Cell Institute as a PhD student working on cartilage repair and focusing on resident cartilage cells and stromal progenitors.

Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh

Anna is a Wellcome Trust Intermediate Fellow and Honorary Consultant Neurologist, based at the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the Unviersity of Edinburgh. Her research group aims to understand why remyelination fails in multiple sclerosis andto  improve the efficiency of remyelination in multiple sclerosis.

LIFE&BRAIN GmbH

Institute of Reconstructive Neurobiology, University of Bonn Medical Center

Dr. Annette Pusch is a scientist working in the field of stem cell bioengineering at LIFE&BRAIN GmbH, a center for translational biomedicine located in Bonn, Germany. As a trained biopharmaceutical engineer and biologist she is working at LIFE&BRAIN´s Cellomics Platform. The unit closely interacts with the Institute of Reconstructive Neurobiology, University of Bonn Medical Center, aiming at industrial applications of stem cells with a distinct focus on neurodegenerative diseases. In collaboration with several industrial and academic partners LIFE&BRAIN Cellomics implements and develops automated cell culture systems for standardizing scale-up and scale-out procedures for pluripotent and somatic stem cells.

CRG-Centre for Genomic Regulation

Annick Labeeuw, is the Outreach Officer at the Centre for Genomic Regluation, CRG, since November 2008. In the same way that research is consolidated by the incorporation of new research groups and the generation of high-level knowledge, the CRG also has been gradually expanding its educational offer and science outreach programme that you can discover here

Wellcome Trust - Medical Research Council Cambridge Stem Cell Institute

Anzy is a second year PhD student in Brian Hendrich’s Lab at the Wellcome Trust - Medical Research Council Cambridge Stem Cell Institute, University of Cambridge. She is enrolled in the Wellcome Trust 4-year Stem Cell PhD programme.

Wellcome Trust - Medical Research Council Cambridge Stem Cell Institute

Aoife is a post doctoral researcher in the laboratory of Dr Brian Hendrich at the Wellcome Trust - Medical Research Council Cambridge Stem Cell Institute at the University of Cambridge. Her research focusses on the development of cells in the early embryo.

UCL Institute of Ophthalmology

Dr G Astrid Limb is a Senior Scientist at the UCL Institute of Ophthalmology in London. Her team investigates various cellular aspects of retinal disease and the development of approaches for transplantation of retinal stem cells to restore visual function.

Aurélie Mahalatchimy is an academic lawyer (PhD in law from the University of Toulouse, France). Currently Research Fellow at the Universities of Sussex and York, in the UK, she is involved in a UK ESRC funded project, REGenableMED, on “Regenerative medicine and its development and implementation: an analysis of emergent value systems and health service readiness” coordinated by Prof Andrew Webster at the University of York. Previously, she worked 7 years on various European and French research projects dealing with biomedical innovation at the French National Institute for Health and Medical Research (Inserm) in Toulouse and as an associated researcher to PACTE, a mixed Unit of the French National Centre for Scientific Research (CNRS) and the Political Sciences Institute of Grenoble.

Aurélie’s main research interest is International, European and Comparative law of biomedical innovation, especially the uses of human genes, cells and tissues for therapeutic (advanced therapy medicinal products), scientific, commercial and industrial purposes.

Aušra Liubavičiūtė is a PhD candidate and a junior researcher at the State Research Institute Centre for Innovative Medicine, located in Vilnius, Lithuania. She is preparing her PhD thesis in the Stem Cell Biology Department under the supervision of Prof. Gene Biziuleviciene. Ausra has a degree in microbiology and belongs to three scientific associations. Her research focuses on manipulation of the bone marrow-derived mesenchymal/skeletal stem cells, their migration and regeneration features at inflammation in mouse models in vivo. She participated in the Hydra XII Summer School on Stem Cell Biology by receiving a bursary.

MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh

Azzurra studied Biological Sciences at Sapienza University of Rome where she also specialised in Genetics and Molecular Biology. She is currently doing her PhD studies at the University of Edinburgh, MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine. Her research project is related to stem cells with a particular interest in RNA Biology. She is also passionate about communicating science to a broader audience.

Institute for Reconstructive Neurobiology at the University of Bonn

Beate Roese-Koerner is a PhD student at the Institute for Reconstructive Neurobiology, University of Bonn, Germany. Her research aims to understand the development of the nervous systems and molecular mechanisms causing diseases affecting the brain using neural stem cells as a model system.

MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh

Benedetta obtained her BSc Hons. Molecular Genetics from the University of Edinburgh in June 2015, and in September she started her PhD in Regenerative Medicine at the same University, joining the Kaji lab. The group works on Biology of Reprogramming, i.e. trying to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie cell identity transitions, focusing on the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells.

Benedetta's project aims to identify faster ways to generate neurons in vitro and in vivo.

She is interested in public engagement and science communication. Being Italian, she helps with Italian translations for EuroStemCell.

Benjamin is a Senior Research Fellow and Liver Cancer Collaborative Patient Derived Organoid Platform Lead at Curtin University in Perth, Western Australia.

He is a contributor to the EuroStemCell Factsheet ‘Chronic liver disease: how could regenerative medicine help?’

Dr. Bettina Reichenbach has a PhD in Developmental Biology and worked on nervous system development and epithelial stem cell regulation before moving to the pharmaceutical industry.

Leiden University Medical Centre

Brigitte Wieles is a project manager and policy advisor at the Leiden University Medical Centre. Following a scientific career in immunology of infectious diseases and cancer she is currently advising research staff on HRM and financial matters and takes care of the management of a number of (inter)-national research consortia.

University of Edinburgh Medical School

Callum is a medical student at the University of Edinburgh and is currently carrying out a research project evaluating Hope Beyond Hype, the comic produced in the Centre for Regenerative Medicine.

Law Degree – Coimbra Law Faculty; Post-graduate in medical law and post-graduate on pharmaceutical law; Lawyer; Acts mainly in the health sector, as a life sciences lawyer, namely advising several entities, in areas such as regulation (prices and reimbursement regulation, medicine legal framework, marketing authorization procedures, promotion activities, clinical trials), commercial policies, litigation and arbitration. Lawyer at Liga Portuguesa Contra o Cancro (Portuguese Ligue Against Cancer); Researcher at the Biomedical Law Center - Coimbra Law Faculty;  Member of ARSCentro Ethics Committee;  Member of the Editorial Board of Lex Medicinae – Portuguese Journal of Health Law;  Invited Professor at several post-graduate, masters and PHD courses - Invited lecturer of the Biomedical Law Institute (Law Faculty of the University of Coimbra); Economics Faculty of the University of Coimbra; Medicine Faculty of the University of Coimbra; Pharmaceutical Faculty of the University of Coimbra; Medicine and Law Faculty of Lisbon University; Catholique University - Lisbon; etc. Has dedicated her research to (Bio)Medical/Health Law and Pharmaceutical Law;

Speaker at several conferences in Portugal and abroad (Spain, France, Belgium, Nederland, Angola, Israel, Brazil, etc.); Has participated in several projects in Portugal and abroad.

MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh

Dr Caroline Pope is a post-doctoral fellow in The Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine in Edinburgh, Scotland. Her PhD studies in Ireland and at EMBL in Heidelberg, Germany, focused on how the expression of the receptor gene for the steroid hormone estrogen is regulated.

After her PhD, she moved to Edinburgh to study development of the eye and subsequently, the pituitary. Caroline became interested in the field of cell therapy after spending a year setting up a start-up company ‘Roslin Cells Ltd.’ to generate human embryonic stem cells. She currently works on a research project investigating the use of cell therapy for liver disease.

School of Social Science, Monash University

Casimir MacGregor is Research Fellow in Sociology, School of Social Science, Monash University. He specialises in the sociology of health and illness, science and technology studies and public health. His research and publications are concerned with clinical medical sociology and the biopolitics of science. 

Pluriomics website

Catarina Grandela is currently a scientist at Pluriomics, a biotech company focused on the development of fully functional stem cell derived-based assay systems for use in drug discovery and safety. She has a PhD in Molecular Biology and has been working with stem cells for more than 10 years. She has held positions in Portugal, Australia and the Netherlands.

Her interest on Public Engagement activities led her to volunteer as an Outreach Champion for the PluriMes project.

Catriona has a degree in Biological Sciences and is currently studying for an MSc in Science Communication and Public Engagement at The University of Edinburgh. She is currently working on the 'Hope Beyond Hype – Part II, Stem Cells and Sport' public engagement project as part of her MSc, having a special interest in this sports project as she is also a member of the British Fencing Team.

IRIBHM, Université Libre de Bruxelles

Professor Blanpain is a researcher of the Belgian FNRS and group leader at IRIBHM, Université Libre de Bruxelles (ULB), Belgium, and is a PI in the current EuroStemCell (H2020) project. His lab is interested in understanding the role of epithelial stem cells during development, homeostasis, cancer initiation and growth.

Stem cells (SCs) have the unique capacity to self-renew and to differentiate into the cell lineages that constitute their tissue of origin. SCs are found in many adult tissues and are critical for maintaining tissue homeostasis and for regenerating damaged tissue after injuries. We are using genetic lineage tracing experiments in mice to determine how stratified epithelia are formed during embryonic development and are maintained thereafter during tissue homeostasis. We are studying how adult SCs sense and respond to DNA damage in their natural niche.

Two epithelial skin cancers are frequent in human populations: the squamous cell carcinoma and the basal cell carcinoma. The identification of the cells at the origin of these two frequent human cancers remains elusive. We are using mouse genetics to identify cells at the origin of these two frequent cancers and developed new approach to understand the molecular changes that occurred from the first oncogenic event to the development of invasive cancers.

Charlotte Colucci was part of the EuroStemCell project team from March 2010-May 2013, with particular focus on dissemination and sharing best practice. She has a degree in International Business and has worked in a variety of marketing and new product development roles on an international level for the private sector.

Department of Pharmacological Sciences and Laboratory of Stem Cell Biology, University of Milan

Dr Chiara Zuccato is Assistant Professor at the University of Milan's School of Pharmacy.  Her research is focused on Huntington's Disease, and includes the identification of a potential target for the screening of drugs useful in the disease.  For this work she received an award from the association "Ricerca in Movimento" (Rome). In 2005 she received a CRUI-British Council grant for collaborative research with Prof. N. Buckley (UK), and in 2006 was awarded with "Le Scienze" Price for Medicine and with a Medal from the President of the Italian Republic.

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

Laboratory of Stem Cell Dynamic, EPFL

Christèle completed her PhD thesis in Alexander Medvinsky’s laboratory at the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. During her PhD she worked on the development of blood stem cells. She then moved to Lausanne in 2010 to become a post-doctoral fellow in Yann Barrandon’s laboratory at EPFL. She is currently working on the plasticity of thymic epithelial cells.

Centre for Stem Cell Biology, University of Sheffield

Christian received his PhD in Experimental Medicine from the Karolinska Institutet in Stockholm, working with Sirac Dilber, Lars Ährlund-Richter and Outi Hovatta on human embryonic stem cells. His interest in iPS cells lead him to pursue a postdoc with Peter Andrews at the Centre for Stem Cell Biology in Sheffield. Here he currently works on differentiation and the application of iPS cells in disease models such as paediatric cancers.

Institute for the history of medicine and medical ethics, University of Cologne

Christiane Woopen is Assistant Professor for Medical Ethics at the Medical Faculty of the University of Cologne.  She is coordinator and leader of several international and national research projects concerning ethical aspects of embryo research, reproductive medicine, prenatal medicine and neuroethics.  She is vice chair of the German Ethics Council and member of the Ethics Advisory Panel of ESTOOLS.

School of Social and Political Science, University of Edinburgh

Dr Christine Knight is Wellcome Trust Senior Research Fellow in Science, Technology and Innovation Studies, University of Edinburgh. Her current research explores contemporary food history and culture, focusing on nutrition and dietary advice. She has previously completed several projects on the broad relationship between science, medicine, culture and policy. These included What Scientists Read, which investigated the influence of literature on science.

Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute

Christine Weber is a PhD student in Fiona Watt's lab at the Cancer Research UK Cambridge Research Institute in Cambridge, UK. Christine is currently investigating the mechanisms of  wound-induced tumours in a transgenic mouse model of skin cancer. Christine blogs frequently for www.curiousaboutscience.net.

Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council Stem Cell Institute

Claire is a final year PhD student working in Dr Michaela Frye's laboratory at the University of Cambridge. Claire's current research aims to increase understanding about how skin stem cells are controlled. She will be moving to Connie Eaves' laboratory in Canada in April 2013 to work as a post doctoral resesarcher.

ESP Ltd

Claire has recently graduated from the University of Edinburgh with a 1st class degree in Medical Biology and is currently working as an account executive at the medical communications agency, ESP.

Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI), National University of Ireland

Clara Sanz is a PhD student in Timothy O’Brien’s laboratory at Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) at the National University of Ireland, Galway. Clara is currently investigating the angiogenic effect of microencapsulated mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for cell transplantation in a hind-limb ischaemia model of peripheral vascular disease.

Clara Sattler de Sousa e Brito is a Patent Attorney with a specialization in biotechnological inventions. Following her studies of physics, philosophy and law and research activities at the Max Planck Institute for Intellectual Property and Competition Law, Germany and Yale Law School, USA, she is now a partner at the patent law firm Liermann-Castell. At the center of her research are problems in the intersecting areas of law, ethics and modern technologies, in particular life sciences (e.g. synthetic biology or stem cells).

Department of Medical Genetics, University of British Columbia

Dr. Connie Eaves (BA & MSc, Queens University, Canada; PhD University of Manchester, UK) was a co-founder of the Terry Fox Laboratory in 1981, and has served both as its Deputy Director and Director.  She has received numerous scholarships and awards, including election as a Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada, receipt of the NCI (Canada) Robert L. Noble Prize for Excellence in Cancer Research, the American Society of Hematology Henry Stratton Medal for Lifetime Achievement and the 2013 Rowley Prize of the International CML Foundation.  During her PhD studies in the late 1960’s, she discovered that two cell populations contribute to the generation of antibody responses, heralding the subsequent recognition of B and T cells.  She has since contributed many seminal advances to our understanding of progenitors and stem cells involved in blood formation and their regulation in both normal and perturbed states, with a particular emphasis on chronic myeloid leukemia.  Over the last decade, she has also become an expert in breast stem cells and has worked with human embryonic stem cells. She has published more than 440 papers and continues to direct a dynamic research group.  She is a major protagonist of excellence in training, having personally supervised 80 graduate students and post-MD and post-PhD fellows.  She has also previously served in many senior leadership positions (including President of the International Society for Experimental Hematology, President of the former National Cancer Institute of Canada, Vice-President of Research at the BC Cancer Agency and Board of Genome Canada), and she continues to be active in promoting and advising several collaborative translational and interdisciplinary research programs and networks.

University of Edinburgh

Corin is a Masters student on the MSc Science Communication and Public Engagement programme at the University of Edinburgh. Corin graduated with a BSc in Biochemistry from the University of Glasgow, after which he spent a couple of years working in research before moving into science communication and public engagement.

Roslin Institute

Cristina Esteves graduated with a PhD in biochemistry from the University of Coimbra, Portugal in 2002, before spending a year as a postdoctoral fellow in microbiology in Iowa. A postdoctoral fellow in endocrinology at the University of Edinburgh until 2014, she now works at the Roslin Institute as a senior scientist in equine stem cell biology.

UCL Cancer Institute

Cristina Pina is a post-doctoral researcher in the Stem Cell Laboratory at the UCL Cancer Institute. After completing her medical degree and general medical training in Portugal, she joined the Gulbenkian PhD Programme in Biomedicine and did her thesis work in Tariq Enver’s laboratory in Oxford working on transcriptional programming of human cord blood-derived haematopoietic stem cells (HSC). She obtained her DPhil from Oxford in 2008, and has since been interested in understanding the molecular regulation of the transition between the stem cell state and lineage commitment in the blood system.

Hubrecht Institute for Developmental Biology and Stem Cell Research

Daniel is a Communication Officer at the Hubrecht Institute & Friends of the Hubrecht Foundation.

REDDSTAR

Danielle is the Dissemination Officer for REDDSTAR | Repair of Diabetic Damage by Stromal Cell Administration, and is an experienced, highly qualified educator and science communicator.  In the EuroStemCell project (to June 2013) she worked with a team to develop and implement multi-lingual resources for promoting dialogue with key audiences and in particular educators on the scientific, clinical, ethical and societal issues related to stem cell research.

Centre for Regenerative Medicine, University of Edinburgh

Dr David Hay is a Principal Investigator at the University of Edinburgh’s Centre for Regenerative Medicine. David has worked in the field of pluripotent stem cell biology and hepatic endoderm derivation over the last decade. He was the first to highlight the important role that cell physiology plays in this process, allowing the generation of efficient and scalable models of hepatic endoderm that display appropriate human function.  The impact of this work has led to a number of publications, grant applications and regular appearances at high profile conferences in Europe and the USA.

The generation of high-purity stem cell derived liver cultures has enabled scientists to model human drug toxicity and disease. The provision of efficient models has also permitted scalable stem cell derivative manufacturing. This has the potential to provide cells for use in predictive toxicology and bio-artificial liver construction. In addition to research experience, David has served as an editor and reviewer of peer-reviewed journals in stem cell and cellular differentiation biology.

University of Edinburgh

I’m an undergraduate student at the University of Edinburgh studying biotechnology. Currently I am working on a project examining young people’s understanding of and attitudes toward stem cells.  The aims of the project are to investigate how pupils understanding of stem cell ideas develop with age, what misconceptions young people have about stem cells and what opinions young people have about stem cell practices in research and therapy.

Petié Salpêtrière Medical School, INSERM

David Sassoon received his Ph.D. from Columbia University in the city of New York (USA) and performed his post-doctoral studies at the Pasteur Institute in Paris, France. He then returned to the USA where he was appointed Assistant Professor at Boston University Medical School and later at Mt Sinai Medical School (New York). Whilst in the USA, he began studying stem cell regulators with an emphasis on skeletal muscle, and also investigated the fetal basis of adult-onset disease.

In 2006, David became a Unit Director at the University of Pierre and Marie Curie (Paris University and INSERM) in Paris, France, where he created the Myology Group.  He is involved in two major EC-funded projects: he is a participant in OptiStem and a coordinator of EndoSTEM. His work is now primarily focused upon adult stem cells and the role that cell stress plays in stem cells, regeneration and aging.

Department of Biology and Biochemistry, University of Bath

Dr David Tosh leads the Vertebrate Embryonic Development research group at the Department of Biology and Biochemistry , University of Bath. His lab is interested in the phenomenon of transdifferentiation (sometimes referred to as metaplasia). Transdifferentiation is defined as the conversion of one differentiated cell type to another. It belongs to a wider class of cell type conversions known as metaplasias that include conversions between stem cell types.

The Tosh group has developed a number of models for the transdifferentiation of pancreas to liver and the reverse. They use their studies of transdifferentiation and metaplasia to help:

1. Understand the normal developmental biology of the cells that interconvert.
2. Help identify transcription factors that could be used to reprogram stem cells for therapeutic transplantation.
3. Gain insight into how certain cancers develop.