The Stem Cell Podcast

Guest: Dr. Mekayla Storer is an Associate Professor at the University of Cambridge and a Principal Investigator at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute. She discusses how mammalian digit tips regenerate after injury, focusing on the formation of the blastema and the cellular and molecular mechanisms that distinguish regeneration from scarring. She highlights the role of the extracellular matrix, tissue mechanics, and regenerative microenvironments in directing tissue repair, and explores how insights from digit tip regeneration may inform strategies to promote regeneration in other organs. Featured Products and Resources: Join us at ISSCR and discover breakthroughs, technologies, and clinical insights you can take back to your lab. Kick start your own journal club using our free toolkit equipped with downloadable checklists and templates. The Stem Cell Science Round Up Modeling EMT in Human Cells – Scientists have developed a human iPSC-based platform that enables standardized, multimodal analysis of epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition dynamics across 2D and 3D contexts. Modeling Persistent Ebola Infection – Human brain organoids reveal how persistent Ebola virus infection in neural cells drives long-term inflammation and viral evolution. Reducing Retinal Graft Rejection – Transient JAK inhibition reduces immune rejection of stem cell-derived retinal grafts and improves visual recovery. Enhancing Renal Regeneration – Targeting ENPP1 with a therapeutic antibody enhances regeneration and restores function after acute kidney injury. Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Mekayla Storer Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Deepak Srivastava is the President of the Gladstone Institutes and Director of the Roddenberry Stem Cell Center. His lab is focused on the gene networks that guide cardiac development. He talks about their recent work investigating heart defects in Down syndrome and strategies for delivering therapies to the heart. He also talks about how to incentivize the development and commercialization of cell and gene therapies. (41:50) Featured Products and Resources: Submit your abstract for ISSCR 2026! STEMdiff™ Ventricular Cardiomyocyte Differentiation Kit The Stem Cell Science Round Up Heart and Ganglion Development – Researchers fused human sympathetic ganglion organoids and heart-forming organoids to construct functional connections between the sympathetic ganglia and the heart. (2:38) Periportal Liver Assembloids – Patient-specific periportal liver assembloids retain the histological arrangement, gene expression, and cell interactions of periportal liver tissue. (9:40) PIEZO1 and Drug-Induced Cardiotoxicity – Restoring endothelial PIEZO1 protects against tyrosine kinase inhibitor-induced hypertension and cardiac dysfunction. (19:28) Somite and Neural Tube Co-Development – Scientists developed human trunk-like structures that have morphologically organized somites and a neural tube that form through self-organized, endogenous signaling. (28:43) Image courtesy of Dr. Deepak Srivastava Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Thomas Vierbuchen is Assistant Professor of Developmental Biology at Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center. In this episode, he talks about using PSCs to model neurodevelopmental processes. He also discusses his direct reprogramming work and his lab’s recent study on OTX2 in gastrulation. (42:02) Featured Products and Resources: Submit your abstract for ISSCR 2026! Explore STEMCELL Technologies’ collection of technical videos and webinars on neurological disease modeling. The Stem Cell Science Round Up Restoring Function After Spinal Cord Injury: In a non-human primate model of spinal injury, researchers grafted ESC-derived spinal cord neural stem cells and improved forelimb function. (2:00) Improving HSC Expansion: Inhibiting ferroptosis augments the expansion of HSCs ex vivo. (11:40) Cardiomyocytes and Macrophage Reprogramming: Injury-induced Clusterin+ cardiomyocytes promote neonatal heart regeneration by reprogramming macrophages. (21:27) Bone Marrow Organoids: A 3D in vitro bone marrow model captures phenotypic, structural, and functional features of human endosteal bone marrow niches. (33:03) Image courtesy of Dr. Thomas Vierbuchen Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Juan Melero-Martin is an Associate Professor and the Endowed Chair in Cardiac Surgery at Boston Children’s Hospital. His lab uses bioengineering principles to understand how vascular networks are formed and the mechanisms by which the vasculature modulates the engraftment and activity of various human stem cells. (42:03) Featured Products and Resources: Save time and stay current with ESC & iPSC News. Learn experimental procedures and laboratory techniques for life science research The Stem Cell Science Round Up Chromosomal Genes Linked to Heart Disease – Scientists identified HMGN1, a nuclear binding protein, as a key contributor to trisomy 21-related congenital heart defects. (1:46) Questioning Common Technique for Assessing IVF Embryos – Live imaging of late-stage preimplantation human embryos suggests that abnormalities can arise at a later stage of development than previously thought. (14:14) Vitamin C Protects Ovaries – Scientists have shown that oral vitamin C protects against ovarian aging in primates. (24:07) Multi-Branching Cell Differentiation Trajectories – A new Hodge Laplacian model has advanced single-cell multimodal data analysis by providing highly reliable results for complex multi-branching trajectories. (33:58) Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Juan Melero-Martin. Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Paul Tesar is the Director of the Institute for Glial Sciences and the Dr. Donald and Ruth Weber Goodman Professor of Innovative Therapeutics at Case Western Reserve University. His lab uses PSCs to model neurological development and disease with a specific focus on oligodendrocytes and astrocytes. He talks about his work on oligodendrocyte maturation, advancing research into the commercial and clinical sectors, and mentoring the next generation of scientists. (42:17) Featured Products and Resources: STEMdiff Neural Crest Differentiation Kit enables high-purity generation of neural crest precursors from human pluripotent stem cells. Explore STEMCELL Technologies’ collection of technical videos and webinars on neurological disease modeling. The Stem Cell Science Round Up Spatially Patterned Kidney Assembloids – Genome-edited kidney progenitor assembloids recapitulate hallmarks of human autosomal dominant polycystic kidney disease. (5:50) Transposable Elements Controlling Cell Fate – This study highlights the role of transposable elements as mechano-response enhancer elements that control human cell fate and gene expression. (13:54) Cardiac Injury Recovery – Targeting a remote injury response in a non-cardiomyocyte cell type rapidly promotes post-myocardial infarction recovery of non-regenerative hearts. (22:47) Intestinal Fibrosis in Crohn’s Disease – A mouse model of creeping fat recapitulates key features of Crohn’s disease strictures. (31:40) Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Alice Soragni is an Associate Professor at the University of California, Los Angeles. She talks about her work on patient-derived organoids and how they can be adapted for drug screening. She also discusses how she transitioned from structural biology to research on protein aggregation and rare diseases, and the current social media landscape for scientists. (45:20) Featured Products and Resources: Download a free wallchart on the applications of organoid cultures. Take your human pluripotent stem cell cultures further with mTeSR™ Plus. The Stem Cell Science Round Up Optogenetic Control of Morphogen Production – Researchers established a model that recapitulates Sonic hedgehog-mediated patterning of the vertebrate neural tube. (4:17) Oligodendrocyte Maturation – Reducing SOX6 levels unlocks oligodendrocyte maturation and myelination. (15:45) CAR T Therapy for Kidney Disease – Targeting extracellular matrix-producing cells with CAR T therapy is a therapeutic strategy for chronic kidney disease. (24:44) Lung Xenotransplantation – A lung from a gene-edited pig was transplanted into a brain-dead human recipient. (35:00) Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. Mark Hatley is an Associate Faculty Member and Director of the Division of Molecular Oncology at St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital. His research focuses on the developmental origins and genetic mechanisms of pediatric rhabdomyosarcoma. He talks about his work on pediatric oncology and the mechanisms that differentiate normal development from cancer. He also discusses the role of PAX3-FOXO1 and DICER1 in tumorigenesis. (37:50) Featured Products and Resources: Share your feedback and enter to win a Bluetooth speaker! Get a free wallchart that explains the functions, properties, and identifying markers of MSCs. The Stem Cell Science Round Up Transplanting Allogeneic Beta Cells – Researchers transplanted genetically modified allogeneic donor islet cells into a man with long-standing type 1 diabetes. (1:37) Pig Liver Xenotransplantation – RNA sequencing highlights how innate immune cells may affect thrombotic and immune pathways after liver xenotransplantation. (12:03) Chemical Reprogramming – A new method generates hCiPS cells from both cord blood and adult peripheral blood cells. (21:10) T Cell Development – Soluble Notch agonists support T cell development in suspension bioreactor culture. (27:30) Image courtesy of Dr. Mark Hatley Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe

Guest: Dr. James Briscoe is a Group Leader at the Francis Crick Institute and Editor-In-Chief of Development. His lab uses an interdisciplinary approach, including mice, chicks, and other models, to study developmental dynamics. He discusses his lab’s work on human trunk formation and his role as an Editor-In-Chief. (44:55) Featured Products and Resources: Enter to win a personalized lab coat! Wallchart: Building Three-Dimensional Human Brain Organoids The Stem Cell Science Round Up Neural Organoid Self-Organization – Researchers used live light-sheet microscopy to track organoid development. (1:30) Lung Cancer Organoids – A gel-liquid interface co-culture model of lung cancer organoids represents immunotherapy results in lung cancer patients. (13:25) Digital Reconstruction of Embryos – Scientists reconstructed full digital mouse embryos at single-cell resolution during early organogenesis. (22:00) Rapid Generation of Vascular Organoids – A new vascular organoid platform has broad potential for vascular modeling, disease studies, and regenerative cell therapy. (32:17) Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe