CIRM - California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
08/23/2024 | News release | Distributed by Public on 08/23/2024 13:12
Next Generation of Regenerative Medicine Scientists and the Golden Era of Biomedical Innovation
CIRM CEO and President, Jonathan 'JT' Thomas speaking in front of conference attendees.
Recap video of the 2024 CIRM Trainee Networking Conference[Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link][Link]
During the first-ever California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Trainee Networking Conference, more than 400 students and postdoctoral fellows from CIRM's Bridges, COMPASS, and Scholars programs gathered from different parts of California for a three-day event at the University of Southern California (USC) Campus. The conference featured 85 speakers and 44 moderators and panelists, providing attendees with valuable opportunities for learning, networking, and career development.
USC Stem Cell organized the event, which was funded by a conference grant from CIRM. ThermoFisher Scientific and Amgen provided additional sponsorship.
Representatives from CIRM, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), the National Marrow Donor Program, Cedars Sinai, Stanford University, and USC cell manufacturing facilities attended.
The conference opened with welcoming speeches from Carolyn Meltzer, MD, CIRM board member and Dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC, followed by event organizers Francesca Mariani, PhD, and Louise Menendez, PhD, faculty members at USC's Department of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.
Patient Advocates Highlight Importance of Science
During the conference, three patient advocates shared their stories and emphasized how advancements in science could impact patients' lives. Jake Javier talked about his spinal cord injury (SCI), his participation in a clinical trial by Lineage Therapeutics that involved injecting embryonic stem cells into his spine, and his hope to help others whose lives are impacted by an unexpected SCI.
Kristin Macdonald shared her experience with Retinitis Pigmentosa, a rare eye disease, and her participation in a stem cell therapy trial led by Henry Klassen from UC Irvine and the biotech company jCyte.
Kim Cade, Director of Sister's Hope Foundation, spoke about her advocacy work for her siblings, who were diagnosed with a rare brain disorder called adult-onset leukoencephalopathy with axonal spheroids and pigmented glia (ALSP), which causes symptoms similar to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, or Lou Gehrig's disease).
Speeches from Top Scientists
Attendees listened to keynote speeches from top scientists, such as Justin Ichida, PhD, an associate professor at USC and VP for Neuroscience Research at BioMarin, who discussed his research on developing new therapies for ALS, and Aileen Anderson, PhD, director of the Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center at UC Irvine, who discussed research on using human neural stem cells to treat spinal cord injuries.
Distinguished professor at UCLA, Don Kohn, MD, shared his success in using gene therapy with blood stem cells to cure over 50 babies with adenosine deaminase deficiency with severe combined immunodeficiency (ADA-SCID, or "bubble baby disease"). Other faculty presenters included Kenneth Kosik, MD, of UC Santa Barbara; Ritchie Ho, PhD, from Cedars Sinai; Paula Cannon, PhD, from Keck School of Medicine of USC; and Bryce Carey, PhD, from Vertex Pharmaceuticals.
The conference featured mini-breakout sessions on a variety of research topics, such as organ systems, early embryonic development, cell therapy, organoids, immunotherapy, genomics, gene editing, and more.
Wei Yan, MD, PhD, an editor at the scientific journal eLife, gave a thoughtful presentation about the evolution and process of scientific publishing, as well as some of the challenges of the current publication system and ways to improve going forward.
Opportunities for Professional Development
Students and postdoctoral fellows presented their research through short talks, including Sushma Kalmodia from Children's Hospital Los Angeles (CHLA), Marcella Birtele from USC, Sydney Prange from UC Irvine, Franco Felix from Stanford University, Robert Lu from UC Berkeley, and Zahir Shah from City of Hope. The conference featured 76 trainee speakers and over 250 poster presentations, with three prizes for the best presentations.
A career panel with a live Q&A session was offered to trainees wanting to know more about career development opportunities. The panel featured professionals in various biotech careers, spanning from research to policy, communication, outreach, education, and patient advocacy. Breakout sessions included topics like applying to graduate school and finding biotech industry positions, as well as networking sessions.
CIRM's Impact on Display
At the end of the conference, CIRM President and CEO Jonathan 'JT' Thomas spoke about how the agency supports research, education, diversity, equity, and inclusion in the stem cell field. "You're in the golden era of biomedical innovation," JT told attendees.
In a final keynote address, Robert Klein II, chief author of the California ballot propositions that funded CIRM, left the audience with these final words: "When you ask yourself, 'What am I doing? Who am I?' You realize that you are at the right place at the right time to make a historic change in human history and reduce suffering."
Watch this video recap of the CIRM Trainee Networking Conference and to learn more about our science education and work training programs, visit cirm.ca.gov/education.