Once again, scientists, researchers, engineers, and pioneers from across the globe gathered to discuss, collaborate, and learn about the forefront of stem cell research at ISSCR2024. The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) 2024 annual meeting was held in Hamburg, Germany. It was filled with a broad range of exhibits, talks, and events from July 10th to 13th. Read on to find out about some of the top announcements and events that took place earlier this month.
ISSCR2024 Announcements and Events
StemCultures, a biotechnology company based in Rensselaer, New York, USA, attended the conference with its Laboratory Manager, Victoria Bull, and Laboratory Technician, Zach Cormier, along with Business Manager, Krissy Roberts. This team develops controlled-release growth factors for a variety of applications in research and industry. They discussed their recent developments, including new products. DISC Devices, a new method of releasing growth factors over 1-2 weeks at a time, recently expanded to include BDNF and GDNF. StemCultures was also able to discuss their process for developing custom StemBeads and their work on growth factors currently in the pipeline. Read on to hear about a new collaboration StemCultures announced while at the conference.
Over the course of the week, attendees took the opportunity to display cutting-edge work and the future of stem cell research. Sponsors, including Bayer and AstraZeneca, promoted talks ranging in topics from advancing stem cell technology across scales to utilizing new analytical tools for monitoring stem cell regulation.
One talk, presented by the ISS National Laboratory, focused on the intersection of stem cell research and low Earth orbit. A team of researchers from the ISS National Laboratory, Scripps Research Institute, and Cedars-Sinai Medical Center discussed recent innovations brought by experiments in low Earth orbit, unique challenges associated with conducting stem cell research in space, and future avenues of research with potential applications in space and on Earth. A further talk focused on potential career paths for young researchers looking to do research in space science and stem cell research.
ISSCR also took the opportunity to name Jun Wu, PhD, as the ISSCR Outstanding Young Investigator Award recipient. Dr. Wu held a discussion on new technologies capable of engineering and characterizing stem cell systems. He has developed additional phenotypes of pluripotent stem cells in his work at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. He is specifically focused on developing novel and efficient genome and epigenome editing tools.
Many other attendees from around the world attended ISSCR2024 and presented groundbreaking and cutting-edge research. Teams from research institutions, companies, and mixes of each spoke to attendees throughout the week. Some interesting talks include “Harvesting Stem Cell Innovation: The Symbiotic Relationship Between Academia and Industry in Cultivated Meat Development” organized by Aleph Farms, Wanda Fish, ETH Zurich, and Tel Aviv University, and “Imaging Stem Cell Systems Across Scales” organized by a team of researchers from MIT, Caltech, ETH Zurich, Washington University in St. Louis, and the German Cancer Research Center.
In addition to these talks, attendees held poster sessions and networking meet-ups on each day. One company that stood out was Qkine from Cambridge, United Kingdom. Qkine is a leading bioactive protein manufacturer. They focus on high-purity, animal-free growth factors, cytokines, and other complex proteins for life science applications. Qkine uses their proprietary production process to provide reliable tools for stem cell and organoid cultures used in research and bio-manufacturing. They will be expanding their services to now include sustained release technology thanks to a new partnership with StemCultures. This summer, a range of co-developed products will be launched to enhance neural cell differentiation for iPSCs and expand the reproducibility and scalability of stem cell cultures. Stay tuned to StemCultures and Qkine to hear more about this revolutionary partnership.
The Future Starts Here
Fitting with the ISSCR2024 slogan, the future is here. Advanced technology, revolutionary research, and cutting-edge partnerships were all announced this past month. Looking forward, ISSCR 2025 will be in Hong Kong from June 11th to 14th, 2025. The StemCultures team is looking forward to the announcements and developments that come in the next year from the field. We can’t wait to share updates from our work on sustained-release growth factor products. Stay tuned to hear more about what StemCultures has planned in the near future and reach out with any questions.
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Note: Opinions and accounts expressed herein are those of the author(s) or interviewee(s). They may not reflect those of StemCultures, its officers, or directors.