Ep. 322: “Healing Hearts with Macrophages” Featuring Dr. Filipa Simões

About this episode

Dr. Filipa Simões discusses the role of macrophages in heart development and regeneration.

Guest: Dr. Filipa Simões is a Group Leader at the University of Oxford and Co-Director of the Oxford Organoid Hub. She discusses how macrophages shape heart development, repair, and regeneration, and how cellular crosstalk within the cardiac niche influences tissue outcomes after injury. Using zebrafish models, stem cell–derived cardiac organoids, and spatial genomics approaches, she explores the molecular signals that govern macrophage identity and function, with the goal of uncovering new strategies to promote cardiac regeneration and limit fibrosis. Featured Products and Resources: Join us at ISSCR and discover the breakthroughs and technologies you can take straight back to your lab. Enter to win 350 US dollars or equivalent towards refreshments to fuel your next journal club. The Stem Cell Science Round Up iPSC Therapy for Heart Failure – Engineered heart muscle grafts derived from iPSCs increased heart wall thickness and improved cardiac function in patients with heart failure. Inflammatory Memory in HSCs – A distinct human HSC subset retains inflammatory memory, influencing blood production, aging, and disease risk. Organoid-Mediated Vision Recovery – Transplanted human…

People in this episode

Guest: Dr. Filipa Simões

Topics covered

• macrophages
• heart development
• cardiac regeneration
• cellular crosstalk
• zebrafish models
• spatial genomics

Keywords

• macrophages
• heart repair
• cardiac niche
• stem cells
• zebrafish
• organoids
• fibrosis

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: University of Oxford, Oxford Organoid Hub

Products: iPSC Therapy for Heart Failure, Inflammatory Memory in HSCs, Organoid-Mediated Vision Recovery, Improving HSPC Gene Therapy

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