ISSCR News
Education Committee is Focused on “Lowering the Threshold for Activation”
This month, I caught up with Eugenia Piddini and Jaime Imitola, the Chair and Vice Chair of the Education Committee to learn about their work in general as well as the latest major contribution to build the first continuing education course on stem cell medicine. This work exemplifies how committees have come together to produce new and exceptional opportunities with lasting impact on our field. One strong theme that came through in our conversation is the deep belief of the critical role that education plays in all we do, and the need to present current information in ways that bridge experts across different specialties (i.e., clinicians, basic scientists) and areas of stem cell science and regenerative biology for the benefit of medicine and patients.
The ISSCR Welcomes New Vice President, Treasurer, Clerk, and Directors
The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) is pleased to announce the results of its 2025 election and to welcome new leaders to the ISSCR Executive Committee and Board of Directors.
New Podcast Episode. Leaving an Imprint: The Function, Impact, and Detection of Epigenetic Marks
Parent-specific epigenetic marks (imprints) leading to parent-specific gene expression are crucial for normal growth and development, yet their mechanisms of establishment and maintenance are not fully understood. In humans, approximately 200 imprinted genes have been discovered, and improper imprinting can manifest in growth restriction, obesity, intellectual disabilities, behavioral abnormalities, and an increased risk of certain cancers. While the use of pluripotent stem cells, especially those in the naïve state, have advanced aspects of modeling early development, a persistent issue hampering bona fide naïve hPSCs is the erosion of imprints. Our guests on today's episode will discuss genomic imprinting, its function, impact, and a new reporter system of imprinted gene expression in hPSCs that enables real-time visualization of loss-of-imprinting at single-cell resolution. This assay provides an important tool to help discover how to improve the imprint fidelity of naïve hPSCs and hence their application for studies of human development and regeneration.
Three Stem Cell Scientists Earn Poster Awards at ISSCR’s Athens International Symposium on Neural Stem Cells
The International Society of Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) is pleased to recognize Alice Rossi, PhD, Francis Crick Institute, UK, Angeliki Spathopoulou, PhD, University of Innsbruck, Austria, and Gareth D. Chapman, PhD, Washington University in St. Louis, USA, with the ISSCR Athens International Symposium Outstanding Poster Award.
Member Spotlight: Hongyan Wang, PhD
Find a great mentor. A supportive mentor will help you grow, acquire essential skills, and develop a vision that will impact your career in long-term. Be prepared for setbacks and challenges—research is inherently unpredictable, and resilience in the face of failure is key to success. Lastly, don't forget to celebrate your small successes along the way!
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