The Stem Cell Podcast

In June 2025, we attended ISSCR 2025, the annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, in Hong Kong. We spoke with delegates about their research, their impressions of the meeting, and the most memorable research presented. They also discussed their experiences exploring Hong Kong.

Dr. Hongkui Deng is the Director of the Institute of Stem Cell Research at Peking University and Dr. Candice Liew is a Senior Scientist at Reprogenix Bioscience. In this special episode recorded in front of a live audience at ISSCR 2025 in Hong Kong, they discuss their groundbreaking study transplanting CiPSC-derived islets into a patient with type 1 diabetes. They talk about their approach to chemical reprogramming, immune tolerance, and the therapy's impact on the first patient.

In June 2025, Daylon and Arun attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research's (ISSCR) annual meeting in Hong Kong, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the previous 24 hours. Here is the final of four episodes from the meeting. Sessions focused on cell therapy for spinal cord injury, immunocompatible pig organs, and community engagement.

In June 2025, Daylon and Arun attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research's (ISSCR) annual meeting in Hong Kong, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the previous 24 hours. Here is the third of four episodes, where Daylon and Arun discuss research on cell therapy for inflammatory bowel disease and hearing loss. They also talk about Dr. Jacob Hanna's work on ex utero embryo culture, Dr. Paola Arlotta's research on long-term brain organoids, and Di Pan's insights into sponge regeneration.

In June 2025, Daylon and Arun attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research's (ISSCR) annual meeting in Hong Kong, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the previous 24 hours. Here is the second of four episodes, where Daylon and Arun cover talks on animal models of regeneration and the public perception of in vitro gametogenesis. They also discuss work on CiPSCs for Type 1 diabetes therapy and growing pig-human chimeric embryos.

In June 2025, Daylon and Arun attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research's (ISSCR) annual meeting in Hong Kong, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the previous 24 hours. Here is the first of four episodes, where Daylon and Arun discuss updates from clinical trials for ALS, congenital heart disease, and Parkinson's disease. They also talk about the Presidential Plenary session, chaired by Dr. Valentina Greco.

Dr. Maneesha Inamdar is the Director of the Institute for Stem Cell Science and Regenerative Medicine and Professor at Jawaharlal Nehru Centre for Advanced Scientific Research. Her lab uses comparative models, including mice, Drosophila, stem cell lines, and gastruloids, to study developmental biology. She talks about using embryo models to investigate teratogenicity, prioritizing ethnically diverse cell lines, and representing Indian scientists in global discussions.

Dr. Jacqueline Barry is the Chief Clinical Officer at Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult, Dr. Kapil Bharti is a Senior Investigator at the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health, and Dr. Jack Mosher is the Scientific Director at the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR). They discuss their work on the ISSCR's Best Practices for the Development of Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Cellular Therapies. They talk about the need for consistency and rigor in cell therapy development, and how the document can be navigated and applied across jurisdictions.

Dr. Margaret "Peggy" Goodell is the Vivian L. Smith Chair in Regenerative Medicine and Director of the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center at Baylor College of Medicine. Her research focuses on HSC regulation and aging. She talks about her discovery of a side population of HSCs, as well as her work on DNMT3A mutation and clonal hematopoiesis of indeterminate potential. Finally, she discusses the rich research environment in Houston.

Drs. Sarah Teichmann is a Member of the Department of Medicine and Professor of Stem Cell Medicine at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute.  She talks about the plasticity of different cell types and developing whole-organ cell atlases for organs such as the thymus. She also discusses Human Cell Atlas project and overcoming skepticism in its early days. Finally, she talks about integrating computational and wet lab biology, and running an interdisciplinary research group.

Professor Hank Greely is the Deane F. and Kate Edelman Johnson Professor of Law and Professor, by courtesy, of Genetics at Stanford University. He is also the Director of the Stanford Center for Law and the Biosciences. He talks about his career path into bioethics and ethical considerations for organoids, bodyoids, and embryo models. He also discusses the potential future of reproduction, including gametogenesis, ectogenesis, and genetic selection and editing of embryos.

Dr. Scott Younger is the Director of Disease Gene Engineering within the Genomic Medicine Center at Children's Mercy Hospital. His research focuses on producing patient-derived cellular models to develop functional precision medicine. He talks about using personalized antisense oligonucleotides to reverse disease phenotypes in organoid models of Duchenne muscular dystrophy. He also discusses his lab's personal connections to the rare disease community and the opportunities for collaborations with clinicians at Children's Mercy.

Dr. Valentina Greco is the President of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), and Professor of Genetics and Co-Chair of the Status of Women in Medicine at Yale University. Dr. Kathryn Cheah is an ISSCR Program Committee Co-Chair and Emeritus Professor and Chair of Biochemistry at Hong Kong University. Dr. Eugenia Piddini is also an ISSCR Program Committee Co-Chair and Professorial Research Fellow in Cell Biology and School Research Director at the University of Bristol. They talk about the upcoming ISSCR 2025 meeting in Hong Kong from June 11-14, 2025. They discuss the meeting's global focus, program highlights, opportunities for early-career researchers, and what they're looking forward to in Hong Kong.

Dr. Robert Zweigerdt is a Principal Investigator at Hannover Medical School, where his lab focuses on cardiac differentiation and the scalable culture of PSCs. He talks about regulating the lineage-specific differentiation of hPSCs and generating heart-forming organoids that mirror developmental cardiogenesis. He also discusses the importance of mentorship and the benefits of an international research group.

Dr. Giorgia Quadrato is Assistant Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine at the University of Southern California. Her research focuses on brain developmental and neural organoids. She talks about protocols for generating cerebellar organoids, including those with functional Purkinje cells. She also discusses a transcriptomic atlas of neural organoids and the stem cell research landscape in California.

Drs. Andrew Elefanty and Elizabeth Ng are Senior Principal Investigator and Principal Investigator, respectively, at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute. In the Blood Development group, they aim to develop innovative cellular therapies for blood and  cartilage-related diseases. They talk about their recent study deriving and transplanting HSCs, their work on reporter lines, and their collaborative lab setup.

Dr. Marius Wernig is a Professor of Pathology and a Co-Director of the Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University, where his research interests include direct reprogramming and neurological disease modeling. He talks about his early work reprogramming neuronal cells from fibroblasts, adopting iPSCs, and growing his lab. He also discusses his recent research on cell therapy for brain and skin diseases, as well as his musical talents outside of the lab.

Guest: Dr. Jonathan Thomas "JT" is the President and CEO of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), an organization that provides funding for stem cell research with the purpose of accelerating treatments for patients in need. He talks about working to ensure diversity in clinical trials and developing treatments that are affordable and accessible to patients. He also discusses the progress during the twenty years since CIRM's inception, training the next generation of scientists, and balancing support for basic and clinical research. (41:03) Featured Products and Resources: Register now for ISSCR 2025 in Hong Kong! Cell Quality Attributes of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells The Stem Cell Science Round Up Regulating Naive Pluripotency – Scientists used a targeted rapid protein degradation system to show that GABPA is a master pluripotency regulator. (1:36) Skin Wound Healing – A spatiotemporal atlas of human skin wound tissues identifies FOSL1 as a critical driver of re-epithelialization. (11:50) Bone Marrow Stem Cell Niches – The bone marrow niche orchestrates hierarchy in stem cells and immune tolerance. (20:49) Synthetic Organizer Cells – Synthetic organizer cells self-assemble around stem cells and produce morphogens. (30:50) Image courtesy of Dr. Jonathan Thomas Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Dr. Milica Radisic is a Professor and Canada Research Chair at the University of Toronto. Her lab uses organ-on-a-chip engineering to mimic physiology of the heart, kidney, and vasculature for the purpose of modeling human disease and discovering more effective drugs. In this episode, she talks about the challenges of studying the heart and strategies to mature cardiomyocytes. She also discusses using macrophages to vascularize heart-on-a-chip platforms and enhance cardiac tissue function, sustainability considerations for microfluidic chips, and how these disease models can reduce the use of lab animals. Finally, she talks about starting a company to commercialize her lab's cardiac chip platform, the landscape for women entrepreneurs, and advice from her mentor, Dr. Bob Langer.

Dr. Cynthia "Cindy" Dunbar is National Institutes of Health (NIH) Distinguished Investigator and Chief of the Translational Stem Cell Biology Branch at the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute of the NIH. She talks about using macaques to study hematopoiesis and aging, and the challenges and considerations for using these models. She also discusses her collaborative study transplanting iPSC-derived cardiomyocytes into rhesus macaques, as well as the NIH's unique research environment and her musical talents outside of the lab.

Dr. Mansi Srivastava is Professor of Organismic and Evolutionary Biology at Harvard University and Curator of Invertebrate Zoology at the Harvard Museum of Comparative Zoology. Her lab uses distantly related species to study evolution and regeneration. She talks about establishing Hofstenia miamia, or the three-banded panther worm, as a model system. She also discusses her lab's work on adult stem cell lineage tracing and whole-body regeneration in Hofstenia, as well as her scientific outreach efforts.

Drs. Dina Radenkovic and Bruna Paulsen are Co-Founder & CEO and VP of Manufacturing and Therapeutic development at Gameto, a biotech company developing treatment solutions to improve women's reproductive health. Their lead platform, Fertilo, uses ovarian support cells to mature oocytes outside of the body with the goal of making IVF and egg freezing shorter, safer, and more effective.

Dr. Meritxell Huch is a Scientific Director at the Max Planck Institute of Molecular Cell Biology and Genetics and an Honorary Professor at the Technical University of Dresden. Her research focuses on liver and pancreas organoid models.  She discusses a protocol for liver mesenchyme and ductal cell organoid co-culture and generating bipotent stem cells from the liver. She also tells her story of moving throughout Europe to pursue her scientific passions.

Dr. Samantha Morris is an Associate Professor of Medicine at Brigham and Women's Hospital and Associate Professor of Systems Biology at Harvard Medical School. She talks about dissecting and manipulating the genetic pathways that regulate cell identity. She discusses tools to measure cell fate transitions and incorporating in silico and in vitro experiments.

Dr. Alfonso Martinez Arias is the CREA Research Professor in the Department of Systems Bioengineering of the Universitat Pompeu Fabra in Barcelona. He talks about his path to developmental biology research and developing gastruloids to model human development. He also discusses standards for embryo models and his recent research on hematopoiesis.

Dr. Behzad Yeganeh is an Associate Scientist at the Children's Hospital of Eastern Ontario Research Institute and the University of Ottawa. His work focuses on lung development and injury. He talks about neonatal lung diseases and the mechanisms that regulate autophagy and apoptosis.

Dr. Dmitriy Sheyn is an Associate Professor in the Department of Orthopedics and Regenerative Medicine Institute at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center. His lab focuses on the development of stem cell therapies for multiple musculoskeletal disorders caused by acute injuries and aging. He talks about ways to model disc degeneration and tendon injuries. He also discuses his lab's work on tendon differentiation and the mechanisms of low back pain.

Dr. Ludovic Vallier is the W3 Einstein Strategic Professor for Stem Cells in Regenerative Therapies at the Berlin Institute of Health and a Max Planck Fellow at the Max Planck Institute for Molecular Genetics. His lab uses stem cells to model embryonic development in vitro and to produce liver cells with an interest for cell therapy. He talks about modeling non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and his lab's pivot to SARS-CoV-2 research early in the pandemic. He also discusses how iPSCs could be used to regenerate the liver after injury.

Dr. Ziyuan Guo is an Assistant Professor of Pediatrics at the Center for Stem Cell & Organoid Medicine at Cincinnati Children's Hospital. He talks about in vivo reprogramming and cell and gene therapy in neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders. He also discusses assembloids to model the blood-brain barrier and strategies for organoid vascularization.

Dr. Irving Weissman is the Virginia and Daniel Ludwig Professor of Clinical Cancer Research and Professor of Pathology and Developmental Biology at Stanford University. Dr. Weissman was the first scientist to identify and isolate mammalian blood-forming stem cells in mice, and his work has contributed to the understanding of how a single hematopoietic stem cell can give rise to specialized blood cells. He talks about developing new treatments for metastatic breast cancer and severe combined immunodeficiency. He also discusses myeloid bias in aging and strategies for commercializing new therapies.

In July 2024, we attended ISSCR 2024, the annual meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, in Hamburg, Germany. We spoke with delegates about their research, their impressions of the meeting, and the most memorable research presented. They discussed their experiences in Europe and where they would like to see the meeting go next.

Dr. Davide Marotta is the Program Director for In-Space Biomanufacturing at the International Space Station National Laboratory. Dr. Catriona Jamieson is the Director of the Sanford Stem Cell Institute at the University of California, San Diego.  In this special episode recorded in front of a live audience at ISSCR 2024 in Hamburg, Germany, they talk about the opportunities and challenges of working with stem cells in a microgravity environment, and what this could mean for the future of stem cell-based therapies. They discuss the challenges of culturing cells in space, the need for risk reduction and collaboration, and how microgravity affects stem cell growth and aging. They also discuss the opportunities that come with the growing popularity of private spaceflight.

In July 2024, Daylon and Arun attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research's (ISSCR) annual meeting in Hamburg, Germany, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the previous 24 hours. Here is the final of four episodes from the meeting. Sessions focused on stem cell research in space, regulatory and ethical considerations for human embryo models, and developing therapies for SCID, epilepsy, and spinal cord injury. Daylon and Arun also discussed work on salivary gland organoids and patient advocacy in Parkinson's disease research.

In July 2024, Daylon and Arun attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research's (ISSCR) annual meeting in Hamburg, Germany, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the previous 24 hours. Here is the third of four episodes from the meeting. Highlights from Day 3 include Dr. Yasuhiro Takashima's work on bilaminoids, Dr. Clive Svendsen's talk on organoid models for ALS, Dr. Sharon Gerecht's research on modeling the microenvironment, and Dr. Katsuhiko Hayashi's work with gonadal organoids.

In July 2024, Daylon and Arun attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research's (ISSCR) annual meeting in Hamburg, Germany, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the previous 24 hours. Here is the second of four episodes from the meeting. Highlights from Day 2 include Dr. Helmuth Gehart's work on mesothelioma organoids, Dr. Kyoko Miura's research on aging in naked mole rats, and Dr. Mansi Srivastava's talk on panther worms to study pluripotency during development.

In July 2024, Daylon and Arun attended the International Society for Stem Cell Research's (ISSCR) annual meeting in Hamburg, Germany, and recorded daily episodes discussing highlights of the first day of the meeting. In this episode, they discuss the clinical focus of this year's meeting and the President's Symposium, including Dr. Magdalena Götz's talk on organellar heterogeneity and "moonlighting" proteins. They also talk about sessions on stem cells in low earth orbit and computational biology, including Dr. Jonathan Weissman's work on PerturbSeq and Dr. Matthias Lutolf's work on organoids on chips. Finally, they discuss a session on cultured meat.

Dr. Valentina Greco is the Carolyn Walch Slayman Professor of Genetics and Co-Chair of the Committee on the Status of Women in Medicine at Yale University. Her research focuses on tissue homeostasis in the face of continuous cellular turnover, frequent injuries, and spontaneous mutations. She talks about her research on skin and hair follicle stem cells, the role of imaging techniques, and bridging science and art. She also discusses disease modeling and building an inclusive lab culture.

Dr. Sara Vasconcelos is a Senior Scientist and the John Kitson McIvor Endowed Chair in Diabetes Research at University Health Network. She is also an Associate Professor at the Institute of Biomedical Engineering at the University of Toronto. Her lab studies microvascular regeneration in cardiovascular diseases and diabetes, and are working to develop personalized patient-derived organ-chip models for drug screening and other applications. In this episode, she talks about modeling cardiac fibrosis and studying pancreatic islet vasculature. She also discusses working with microchips and with large animal models.

Dr. Sebastian Diecke is a Group Leader and Stem Cell Core Director at the Max Delbrück Center, where his research focuses on iPSCs and organoid models. He talks about the early days of iPSC research, developing organoids from endangered rhinoceros, and modeling Huntington's and other diseases.

Dr. Shukry Habib is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at the Université de Lausanne. His lab works at the intersection of stem cell biology, biophysics, and tissue engineering to investigate how tissues form. He talks about developing a transplantable bandage for bone repair and the role of Wnt signaling and cytonemes in development.

Dr. Shankar Srinivas is a Professor of Developmental Biology in the Department of Physiology Anatomy and Genetics based in the Institute for Developmental and Regenerative Medicine at the University of Oxford. He is also a Zeitlyn Fellow and Tutor in Medicine at Jesus College. Using mouse and human embryos as model systems, his group looks at the control of patterning and morphogenesis during the establishment of the anterior-posterior axis, gastrulation, and early cardiogenesis.  He discusses how tissues respond to forces during early development, characterizing cardiac progenitors, and his experience training internationally.

Dr. Pierre Vanderhaeghen is a Professor and Principal Investigator at VIB-KU Leuven Center for Brain & Disease Research. His lab studies the mechanisms of cortical development and brain evolution. He talks about species-specific neuronal development, human neuron excitability, and playing in a rock cover band!

Dr. Ryan Flynn is a Principal Investigator at Boston Children's Hospital and an Assistant Professor in the Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology Department at Harvard University. His lab explores the interface between RNA and glycans. He talks about the discovery of glycoRNA and the chemistry of the RNA-glycan connection. He also discusses the effects of glycans on stem cell function and deciding between a career in medicine and basic science.

Dr. Blair Benham-Pyle is an Assistant Professor at Baylor College of Medicine. She talks about how multipotent cells in Schmidtea mediterranea enable whole-body regeneration. She also discusses the effects of the mechanical environment on stem cell fate.

Dr. Amander Clark is the President of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) and Founding Director of the Center for Reproductive Science, Health, and Education at the University of California, Los Angeles. Dr. Agnete Kirkeby is a Program Chair of the ISSCR Annual Meeting, Associate Professor at Lund University and the University of Copenhagen, and Group Leader at the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Biology – reNEW. Dr. Malin Parmar is a Program Chair of the ISSCR Annual Meeting, Professor at Lund University, and a New York Stem Cell Foundation – Robertson Investigator. They talk about the upcoming ISSCR 2024 meeting in Hamburg, Germany from July 10-13, 2024. They discuss the meeting's clinical focus, spotlight and plenary sessions, and opportunities for students and postdocs.

Dr. Marissa Scavuzzo is an HHMI Hanna H. Gray Fellow at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Her research focuses on enteric glia regulation in the healthy and diseased gut. She talks about how glial cell subtypes affect intestinal motility and her experience receiving NYSCF and HHMI fellowships. She also talks about bringing science to underserved schools in Cleveland.

Dr. Ritu Raman is the d'Arbeloff Career Development Assistant Professor of Mechanical Engineering at MIT, where her lab uses robotics and tissue engineering to treat muscle loss. She talks about light-activated muscle grafts, magnetic microparticles to control forces exerted on cells, and strategies for science communication.

Dr. Shiri Gur-Cohen is an Assistant Professor of Medicine in the Division of Regenerative Medicine at UC San Diego. Her lab studies epithelial stem cells throughout their lifetimes. She talks about lymphatics in the intestinal stem cell niche, 3D imaging techniques, and sharing her science with a wider audience.

Dr. Malin Parmar is a Professor at Lund University and a New York Stem Cell Foundation – Robertson Investigator. Her research aims to understand cell fate specification in the developing brain and in human neural progenitor cells using cell-based models of neuronal differentiation. She talks about using assembloids to model the dopaminergic system, direct reprogramming somatic cells into induced neurons, and developing ESC-derived dopamine progenitor cells to treat Parkinson's disease.

Dr. Olivier Pourquié is the Frank Burr Mallory Professor of Pathology and Professor in the Department of Genetics at Harvard Medical School. His work focuses on the segmentation clock and the development of muscles and vertebrae. He talks about studying somitogenesis in vitro and his work on brown fat development.

Dr. Hwee Goon Tay is an Assistant Professor at the Duke-National University of Singapore Medical School and Dr. Beau Fenner is an Ophthalmologist at the Singapore National Eye Centre. Their work focuses on cell therapy for degenerative retinal diseases. They talk about strategies to slow degeneration and potentially restore vision.