Media Advisory

Tuesday, April 1, 2008

NIH to Host Research Symposium on Clinical Applications of Stem Cell Therapies

What: "Challenges and Promise of Cell-Based Therapies" is a one-day symposium to explore promising research in regenerative medicine using stem cells. The opening plenary session will feature an overview of hematopoietic stem cell therapy. This will be followed by four plenary sessions that will highlight cell-based therapies for the treatment of neurological, cardiac, musculoskeletal, and metabolic diseases and disorders. It will close with a presentation on induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) and the issues that need to be addressed to enable their potential use in cell-based therapies.

Why: The purpose of the symposium is to determine productive new directions for research in regenerative medicine and to help NIH prioritize research with the greatest potential for clinical benefit.

Who: Speakers include:
Story C. Landis, Ph.D., National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, National Institutes of Health
James F. Battey, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, National Institutes of Health
Paolo Bianco, M.D., Sapienza Universita' di Roma
George Daley, M.D., Ph.D., Harvard Stem Cell Institute
Mark S. Freedman, M.D., M.Sc., University of Ottawa
Linda Griffith, Ph.D., Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Markus Grompe, M.D., Oregon Health & Science University
Douglas Kerr, M.D., Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University
Michael A. Laflamme, M.D., Ph.D., University of Washington
Annarosa Leri, M.D., Harvard Medical School
Douglas W. Losordo, M.D., Northwestern University
Stuart H. Orkin, M.D., Harvard Stem Cell Institute
Terence A. Partridge, Ph.D., Children’s National Medical Center
Darwin Prockop, M.D., Ph.D., Tulane University Medical School
Clive N. Svendsen, Ph.D., University of Wisconsin-Madison
Kenneth Zaret, Ph.D., Fox Chase Cancer Center

When: Tuesday, May 6, 2008, 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m.

Where: Natcher Conference Center, NIH Campus

Press Registration: For a registration form please send your name and email to nihsymposium@masimax.com, or call 866-710-0135 and leave your name and phone number. To be admitted into the symposium, you will need to show your press ID (or credentials) at the registration desk to receive a name badge.

More Information: http://stemcells.nih.gov

About the National Institutes of Health (NIH): NIH, the nation's medical research agency, includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. NIH is the primary federal agency conducting and supporting basic, clinical, and translational medical research, and is investigating the causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.

NIH…Turning Discovery Into Health®

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