ISSCR News


Leading Regulatory and Public Policy Actions to Advance the Field
Message from the President Kym Kilbourne Message from the President Kym Kilbourne

Leading Regulatory and Public Policy Actions to Advance the Field

I am continuing the theme of using my monthly messages to highlight the contributions of ISSCR committees and the members who dedicate their time and talent to advancing the field and the mission of the Society. This month, I’ve had the privilege to talk with Melissa Carpenter and Tennielle Ludwig, the chair and vice chair of the Manufacturing, Clinical Trials, and Regulatory Committee (MCTR), and to learn more about the work of the Public Policy Committee, led by Sean Morrison. The contributions they are making address critical priorities of the ISSCR and reinforce why membership in the Society is so vital – it supports initiatives that ease pathways for research and clinical advances so they may thrive.

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New Podcast Episode. Guidelines for Managing and Using the Digital Phenotypes of Pluripotent Stem Cell Lines
Announcements Megan Koch Announcements Megan Koch

New Podcast Episode. Guidelines for Managing and Using the Digital Phenotypes of Pluripotent Stem Cell Lines

The ability of human pluripotent and somatic stem cells to differentiate into multiple cell types of the human body makes them uniquely useful to model human development and disease. As a result, these cells are shared, edited, and differentiated by laboratories across the world for basic research, clinical translation, and commercial applications. Large and genotypically diverse collections of pluripotent stem cells are being generated to support large cohort-scale research into conditions such as Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, among many others. However, information about these cells, their derivatives, and the resulting data can be difficult to track due to a myriad of factors including poor naming practices, siloed datasets, and incomplete information on experimental practices in the published literature. As a result, the ability to maximize the utility of these cells and data from them is limited, and the rigor and reproducibility of the research and its application may be seriously compromised. Our guests today, who were part of the ISSCR Task Force that developed the Standards for the Use of Human Stem Cells in Research, will discuss in detail a framework to manage these issues using stem cell registries.

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Stem Cells Shed Insight Into Cardiovascular Disease Processes 
Press Release Kym Kilbourne Press Release Kym Kilbourne

Stem Cells Shed Insight Into Cardiovascular Disease Processes 

When thinking about the immune system, most people think about B and T cells and how they can be trained to recognize pathogens, preventing re-infections. Besides this “adaptive” immune system, we also have an “innate” immune system which acts as first line defense against e.g. bacteria and viruses. The textbook view is that the innate immune system is non-specific so that it’s response always follows the same pattern, even for recurring infections. However, research published today in Stem Cell Reports provides evidence that brief exposure to certain “danger signals” can prime the body’s innate immune system into a long-term hyperreactive and inflammatory state termed “trained innate immunity.”

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