A team from Coriell showcased the exciting initiatives taking place at the Institute during the 2014 International Society for Stem Cell Research Annual Meeting held in Vancouver, Canada late last month.
Coriell's contingent joined a gathering of the world's leading scientists, clinicians and industry representatives to discuss the inherent promise of stem cell science and share significant advances in the field.
"Not only was the conference an opportunity to interact with some of the most noteworthy and accomplished experts in the stem cell arena, but it also provided Coriell occasion to spotlight our many recent successes," said Dr. Shilpa Gandre-Babbe, group leader of the Institute's stem cell laboratory. "We've been making great strides with our innovative induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell program, and it was very validating to learn that elite scientists and researchers from around the world are familiar with our work."
The four day event featured a host of panel discussions, seminars and workshops covering a range of topics, including a session on the challenge of modeling human diseases with stem and iPS cells, as well as a discourse on the molecular process responsible for triggering human stem cells to differentiate into various cell types of the body. Dr. Michael Yaffe, the associate director of research activities at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), delivered a lecture and mentioned the progress being made through CIRM's $10M research partnership with Coriell.
For several years, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences and the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke have supported the collection and distribution of iPS cell lines at Coriell, including cell lines created from patients diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease, Huntington's disease, Parkinson's disease, and many other complex conditions.
