The Stem Cell Podcast

Guest: In this episode, we welcome Drs. Shahin Rafii and Raphael Lis. Dr. Rafii is director of the Ansary Stem Cell Institute, chief of the Division of Regenerative Medicine, and the Arthur B. Belfer Professor at Weill Cornell Medicine. His lab investigates stem cell biology and angiogenesis using in vivo mouse models. Dr. Lis who was the first author on their recent Nature paper and is an Instructor in Medicine and the TRI-SCi Flow Cytometry Core Manager at Weill Cornell Medicine. Featured Resource: Bone Marrow Niches and HSC Fates Wallchart Resources and Links US to Pull Out of Paris Climate Accord – President Donald Trump announced June 1 that the United States will leave the Paris climate accord, calling it “simply the latest example of Washington entering into an agreement that disadvantages the United States.” Plants – A Source of Air Pollution When Temperatures Rise – During heat waves, city trees actually boost air pollution levels with as much as 60 percent of ground-level ozone created with the help of chemicals emitted by urban shrubbery. Climate Change May Be Beneficial for Earworms – Researchers analyzed 21 years of data from Maryland cornfields and suggest that rising temperatures might help corn earworms (Helicoverpa zea) develop resistance faster to a widespread genetically built-in crop protection. Humans Love Looking at Faces Even Before Birth – In the first-ever study of prenatal visual perception, fetuses were more likely to move their heads to track facelike configurations of light projected into the womb than non-facelike shapes. New Therapy “Flags” DNA to Boost Cancer Fighting T-Cells – An antibody sold as the drug Keytruda helps turn on cancer-fighting T cells by blocking PD-1 proteins, freeing T cells to attack the cancer. Trump Retains Collins as NIH director – President Donald Trump has decided to appoint the director of the National Institutes of Health even though pro-life advocates called on Francis Collins to be replaced because of his support for embryonic stem cell research that involves the destruction of human life. Using Stem Cells to Reverse Brain Death?? – The company, Bioquark, plans to initiate a study later this year to see if a combination of stem cell and protein blend injections, electrical nerve stimulation, and laser therapy can reverse the effects of recent brain death. Skin Stem Cells to Treat Congenital Brain Defect – Researchers developed a stem cell-based therapy for generating skin grafts to cover myelomeningocele defects before birth according to a study published in Stem Cell Reports. CryoPause: A New Method to Immediately Initiate Experiments after Cryopreservation of Pluripotent Stem Cells – Researchers describe a modification of PSC workflows that eliminates a major variable for nearly all PSC experiments: the quality and quantity of the PSC starting material. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Shahin Rafii  Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Dr. Clive Svendsen, a regenerative medicine leader who uses patient-derived iPSCs to model disease and push therapies to clinic. He discusses building blood–brain barrier models, how BBB defects block thyroid hormone entry, endothelial-targeted gene therapy strategies, and using human iPSC systems alongside animal tests to speed translational work.

Dr. Farshid Guilak, a Washington University orthopaedics professor who develops stem-cell–based therapies for osteoarthritis. He discusses differences between osteoarthritis and rheumatoid arthritis. He explores obesity, diet, and post-traumatic risks to joints. He describes engineering mesenchymal stem cells with CRISPR circuits for targeted anti-inflammatory delivery and local versus systemic treatment strategies.

Dr. Graham Johnson, computational biologist and medical illustrator building multi-scale cell visualizations. Dr. Rick Horwitz, cell migration and architecture expert leading the Allen Institute. They explore the Allen Cell Explorer 3-D cell library, why iPS cells and cardiomyocytes were chosen, technical hurdles like imaging and segmentation, and using deep learning to predict whole-cell organization.

Dr. Alysson Muotri, a UC San Diego professor who models neurological disorders with human iPS cells, discusses creating a cellular model of anorexia nervosa. He covers using patient-derived neurons, transcriptomics that flagged TACR1, and challenges of studying psychiatric conditions in a dish. He also talks about organoids, chimeras, and the need for better brain tissue resources.

Guest: Dr. Fabio Rossi is a Professor at the Department of Medical Genetics and Director of Biomedical Research Centre at the University of British Columbia. He joins us to discuss the role of mesenchymal stem cells in regeneration and fibrosis in vivo. Featured Resource: CloneR™ Defined Supplement for Single-Cell Cloning of Human ES and iPS Cells Resources and Links New Steel Modeled After Bones – A new type of steel mimics bone to make the metal more resistant to failure. The First Fluorescent Frogs – Scientists say South American polka dot tree frog gives off an “intense greenish-blue glow” under UV light. Brain Differences Seen Between Girls and Boys with ADHD – Girls and boys with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder don’t just behave differently but parts of their brains look different, too like the cerebellum. Getting Dengue First May Make Zika Infection Much Worse – Experiments in cells and mice suggest that a previous exposure to dengue or West Nile can make a Zika virus infection worse by facilitating entry of the Zika virus into susceptible cells, and exacerbating the disease outcome. For Kids Daily Juice Most Likely Won’t Pack on Pounds – This article shows that an analysis of existing studies linked daily juice drinking to very small amounts of extra weight in young children. Man Receives Someone Else’s Reprogrammed Stem Cells – Doctors took skin cells from a donor bank and reprogrammed them into induced pluripotent stem cells, grew them into a type of retinal cell, and then injected them into the retina of the macular degeneration patient’s right eye. Stem Cell Fabric Innovation Regrows Rotator Cuff Tendons – A team of researchers from University of Connecticut Health has found a way to regenerate rotator cuff tendons after they’re torn, using a nano-textured fabric seeded with stem cells. New Stem Cell Screening Platform Opens Door to Novel Ways to Treat Neuro Diseases – Scientists at Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine have successfully grown stem cells from children with a devastating neurological disease to help explain how different genetic backgrounds can cause similar symptoms. Stem Cells Help Some Men with Erectile Dysfunction after Prostate Surgery – Scientists report that men who are unable to have an erection after prostate surgery enjoyed normal intercourse thanks to stem cell therapy. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Fabio Rossi Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Dr. Shawn Hingtgen, a molecular pharmaceutics researcher using imaging and stem-cell delivery against brain cancer, and Dr. Matthew G. Ewend, a neurosurgeon tackling glioblastoma surgically and translationally. They discuss neural stem cells that home to invasive brain tumors. Topics include tumor-homing signals, rapid patient-specific reprogramming, preclinical homing and kill data, safety switches, and steps toward clinical translation.

Dr. Justin Lathia, an assistant professor studying how stem cell programs drive tumor progression and therapy resistance, discusses cancer stem cell heterogeneity and why some tumors stay lethal. He explains how treatment shapes more aggressive cells. He describes how cancer stem cells suppress TLR4 to evade immune signals and outlines therapeutic strategies to restore or target that pathway.

Dr. Jun Wu, a developmental biologist at the Salk Institute who studies interspecies chimerism, joins to discuss human–pig chimera research. He explains what chimeras are and why pigs are chosen. He covers CRISPR-created host niches, differences between naive and primed stem cells, ethical safeguards, and next steps to boost human cell contribution in pigs.

Dr. Christopher Park, Associate Professor at NYU Langone who studies blood cancers and leukemia stem cells. He talks about identifying CD99 as a marker on malignant stem-like cells. He explains how an anti-CD99 antibody can directly kill leukemic cells and ideas to pair it with mobilization or monitoring strategies. The conversation covers diagnostics like flow cytometry and prospects for preventative and transplant-related therapies.