Journal of Stem Cell Research & Therapy

Initiatives to advance stem cell science and medicine at Californiaâ??s $3 billion stem cell agency

Annual Summit on Cell Signaling, Cell Therapy and Cancer Therapeutics

September 27-28, 2017 Chicago, USA

Stephen S Lin

California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, USA

Scientific Tracks Abstracts: J Stem Cell Res Ther

Abstract:

The mission of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) is to accelerate stem cell treatments to patients with unmet medical needs. With $3 billion in funding and 300 active programs, it is the worldâ??s largest institution dedicated to helping people by developing cell therapies. To accomplish its mission, CIRM has funded a breadth of activities spanning from basic research to translation to clinical trials. In addition to individual grants, CIRM has created resources to help the stem cell community worldwide. Some resources promote research and drug development using stem cells. CIRM has established an iPSC Repository maintained by the Coriell Institute that is currently the largest publically accessible pluripotent stem cell bank in the world. CIRM also has a genomics research initiative that applies cutting edge sequencing and bioinformatics approaches to stem cell research and therapeutic development. Other resources established at CIRM promote the acceleration of stem cell discoveries into therapeutic development, including: the Stem Cell Center, which supports preclinical IND-enabling and clinical trial management activities related for stem cell therapies, and an Alpha Clinics network that conducts clinical trials for stem cell related therapies. CIRM supports additional activities that promote standardization, clarity, and speed to this emerging therapeutic area. In total, these resources are designed to catalyze the flow of stem cell discoveries to the clinic, which can come from both inside and outside of California.

Biography :

Stephen S Lin is a Senior Science Officer at California’s Stem Cell Agency, CIRM. He joined the Agency in 2015 to oversee its $32M initiative to create a repository of iPSCs from over 2800 individuals covering both genetically complex and rare diseases, as well as a $40M genomics initiative that applies cutting edge genomics and bioinformatic approaches to stem cell research and therapeutic development. He is also Program Lead on a $15M award to create a preclinical research organization termed the Translating Center that focuses on preparing stem cell therapy candidates for clinical trials through support with process development, safety/toxicity studies, and manufacturing. From 2012, he had been a Staff Scientist and Team Lead at Thermo Fisher Scientific (formerly Life Technologies) prior to that he was a Scientist since 2006 at StemCells Inc., of California in the area of liver cell therapeutics. He received his PhD from Washington University in St. Louis in 2002 under Jeffrey Gordon and did his Post-doctoral research at Harvard University under Stanley Korsmeyer.