Wednesday, 10 July 2024 | 4:00 PM – 5:30 PM CET

EXPLORING BIOPHYSICAL CUES: UNRAVELING MECHANOTRANSDUCTION IN PLURIPOTENT STEM CELL DIRECTED DIFFERENTIATION

Organized By:

Dana Brinson, University of Toronto, Canada
Golnaz Karoubi, University Health Network, Canada

  • This session will explore the interplay between biophysical cues and pluripotent stem cell differentiation. Participants will hear about current progress in leveraging the mechanical microenvironment to improve the fidelity of stem cell-derived tissues. Recent advancements in our understanding of how mechanotransduction directs cell fate via epigenomic changes will be discussed, providing a comprehensive update on the current state of knowledge in this emerging subject.

HARVESTING STEM CELL INNOVATION: THE SYMBIOTIC RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ACADEMIA AND INDUSTRY IN CULTIVATED MEAT DEVELOPMENT

Organized By:

Neta Lavon, Aleph Farms, Israel
Malkiel Cohen, Wanda Fish, Israel
Michelle Hauser, Iftach Nachman Lab - Tel Aviv University, Israel
Christine Ling Li Trautmann, ETH Zurich, Switzerland

  • Cultivated meat, an innovative cellular agriculture method, addresses climate change, resource scarcity, and a growing population. It transforms animal stem cells into a sustainable nutrition source, countering challenges in traditional livestock farming. With the global population surpassing 8 billion, conventional methods are insufficient. Cultivated meat offers a solution, ensuring a diverse and secure supply of high-quality animal products while minimizing the environmental impact.

    Despite the advances of this new chapter of animal agriculture, the field encounters multi-faceted challenges. These encompass fundamental research areas such as comprehensive stem cell characterization, improving differentiation processes, growth media and bioprocessing optimization, and improved tissue engineering methods. Moreover, scalability and cost-effectiveness pose significant hurdles in achieving widespread adoption and commercial viability. Therefore, ongoing research is vital to drive innovations to enhance the prospects of cultivated meat for future advancements.

    This session explores the science of cultivated meat and cellular agriculture, presenting diverse research from academic labs and the cultivated meat industry. Hear insights from academic leaders, trainees, industry experts, and non-profit organizations, fostering a dynamic exchange of knowledge and expertise on grant funding, career opportunities, and collaborative research translations between academia and industry for transformative advancements.

Cell polarity in organoid-derived models of health and disease

Organized By:

Georg Csukovich, University of Veterinary Medicine, Vienna

  • This Science Spotlight Session highlights the importance of cell polarity in organoid-based models. Cell polarity is not only crucial in the developing human body, but also for homeostasis and pathophysiological processes in the adult human body (maintenance of the stem cell niche, viral/bacterial infection of cells, etc.). Methods like reversing organoid cell polarity or generation of organoid-derived monolayers give researchers experimental control and access to polarized surfaces, but can modify the stem and differentiated cell niches. Thus, newly established organoid-based models need to be carefully evaluated beforehand to ensure meaningful outcomes. We want to discuss the different models available to probe the basolateral and apical cell surfaces and opportunities and trade-offs of controlling cell polarity in 3D models.

TRANSLATION OF ACADEMIC RESEARCH: FROM NICE TO HAVE TO CLINICAL IMPERATIVE

Organized By:

Chantal van Litsenburg, Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands
Ana Hidalgo-Simon, Leiden University Medical Center, Netherlands

  • The dynamic field of translational medicine, particularly in the context of cutting-edge cell and gene therapies, is reshaping the role of academic research centers. This session will discuss optimizing the academic research framework for clinical relevance, focusing on regulatory science, accessibility, stakeholder engagement, and organizational optimization.

    Academic institutions are increasingly pressurized to drive the progression from pre-clinical stages to clinical trials, with the potential to achieve market authorization. With the rising interest in academic drug development and the backdrop of healthcare sustainability challenges, there's a growing shift of public funding towards research collaborations focused on clinical applications. However, institutions often lack the specific capacity, knowledge and focus, which are essential for successfully navigating the entire development pathway to market authorization.

    The session will explore pivotal areas for researchers in translational medicine, stressing the importance of translatable approaches for research impact. Accessibility, including regulatory navigation and Health Technology Assessment, is vital for successful translation and influences funding and EU legislation debates. Engaging stakeholders strategically is crucial for aligning therapies with clinical goals and patient expectations. Finally, the need for organizational innovation is discussed, highlighting strategies for cross-disciplinary collaboration and rethinking structures to support research's transformation into clinically impactful therapies.

FRONTIERS IN EPIGENETIC GENE EDITING OF STEM CELLS

Organized By:

Gregory Block, Histone Therapeutics, Canada
Isaac Gabriel, University College London, UK
Bradley Wachtell, Histone Therapeutics, USA

  • Our symposium, "Frontiers in Epigenetic Gene Editing of Stem Cells," will explore the latest advancements and methodologies in the field. It will delve into the successes and challenges of manipulating the epigenome to direct stem cell fate and function. The session will highlight the progress being made engineering therapeutically relevant cells as wells, discussing the utility of epigenetic programming to understand basic development mechanisms.