The Stem Cell Podcast

Ep. 313: “Cardiovascular Disease Mechanisms” Featuring Dr. Joseph Wu

Feb 3, 2026
Guest
Joseph Wu
Dr. Joseph Wu, Stanford cardiology and radiology professor who leads cardiovascular translational research, discusses using stem cells, organoids, genomics, CRISPR and AI to probe heart disease. He covers modeling vaccine-associated myocarditis, pharmacology pitfalls in preclinical drug discovery, and building tiered pipelines that pair NAMs with animal studies for better translation.
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INSIGHT

Stem Cells Paired With AI Drive Rapid Therapeutic Development

  • Stem cell tools plus AI and CRISPR are being combined to develop clinic-ready therapeutics.
  • Joseph Wu described moving from mechanistic studies toward drug development and a trial repurposing autosidate for idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis.
ANECDOTE

Modeling Vaccine Myocarditis Across Human Organoids And Animals

  • The Wu lab modeled rare vaccine-induced myocarditis using patient cytokine data, iPSC cardiogonoids, macrophage co-cultures, and animal models.
  • They identified interferon gamma and CXCL10 as drivers and showed genistein reduced inflammation in models.
ADVICE

Validate In Vitro Findings With Realistic Pharmacology

  • Validate in vitro findings with realistic pharmacology: use clinically achievable doses and check PK/PD before claiming translational relevance.
  • Wu warns many papers use high micromolar in vitro doses (10–50 µM) that are unattainable in human plasma.
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