CO-FOUNDERS
+ ORGANISERS' BRIEF BIOGRAPHIES
Dr.
Stephen L. Minger PhD
Director
Stem Cell Biology Laboratory
Wolfson Centre for Age Related Diseases
King’s College London
Stephen is the Director of the Stem Cell Biology Laboratory and a Senior Lecturer in the new Wolfson Centre for Age Related Diseases at King's College London. He received his PhD in Pathology (Neurosciences) in 1992 from the Albert Einstein College of Medicine. From 1992–1994, he was a post-doctoral fellow at the University of California, San Diego, where he first began to pursue research in neural stem cell biology. In 1995, Dr Minger was appointed an Assistant Professor in Neurology at The University of Kentucky Medical School. He moved his stem cell research programme to Guy’s Hospital in 1996 and was appointed a Lecturer in Biomolecular Sciences at King's College London in 1998. Over the last 15 years, his research group has worked with a wide range of somatic stem cell populations, as well as mouse and human embryonic stem (ES) cells. In 2002, together with Dr. Susan Pickering and Professor Peter Braude, Stephen was awarded one of the first two licenses granted by the UK Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority (HFEA) for the derivation of human ES cells. His group subsequently generated the first human embryonic stem cell line in the UK and was one of the first groups to deposit this into the UK Stem Cell Bank. They have gone on to generate five new human ES cell lines, including one that encodes the most common genetic mutation resulting in cystic fibrosis and another one that contains the Huntington’s disease mutation.
In addition to the derivation of human ES cell lines, the Stem Cell Biology Laboratory is focused on the generation of a number of therapeutically relevant human somatic stem cell populations from embryonic stem cells. These include cardiac, vascular, retinal, and neural stem/progenitor cell populations, as well pancreatic beta-cells and oligodendrocyte progenitors. The Stem Cell Biology Laboratory team has established a number of significant collaborations with biological and clinical scientists throughout the UK specifically related to clinical translation of stem cells for a wide variety of human disorders.
Stephen is also the Senior Editor of "Regenerative Medicine", a new journal launched in January 2006 by Future Medicines, which recently won the 2006 ALPSP/Charlesworth Award for Best New Journal. Stephen is also the Stem Cell Expert and Member of the UK Gene Therapy Advisory Committee (GTAC) at the Department of Health.
Dr. Chris Mason MBBS PhD
FRCS
Stem Cell + Regenerative Medicine Bioprocessing Unit
Advanced Centre for Biochemical Engineering
University College London
GMC Registration Number: 4121734
Originally graduating from Imperial College with a degree in molecular biology and St. Thomas’s Hospital Medical School with a medical degree, Chris then specialised in surgery. Chris is a Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons of England, Fellow of the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine. In addition, he has a PhD in Biochemical Engineering under the supervision of Prof. Peter Dunnill (UCL), coordinates the Stem Cell + Regenerative Medicine Bioprocess Group at UCL (a team of 20+ researchers) and has broad range of expertise in commercial consultancy including to a number of regen companies. Furthermore, Chris has over 10 years experience at boardroom level of running technology companies. In 2005, Chris coined the term, "Regenerative Medicine 2.0" to describe the emergence of the today's regen industry with its focus firmly in translation and commercialisation.
Chris is on the Editorial Board of both "Regenerative Medicine" and "Tissue Engineering" journals. In September 2006, he was the Mission Leader of the DTI funded Global Watch Mission "Advanced Cell & Tissue Therapies" which visited the West Coast of North America.
On the 23rd February 2007, Chris was delighted to have the opportunity to give a Royal Institution of Great Britain, Friday Evening Discourse - "Therapeutic potential of human stem cells: promise and pitfalls".
Finally, Chris has recently been appointed to:
1. Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC) - Engineering & Biological Systems Committee (EBS).
2. UK National Stem Cell Network (UKNSCN) - Steering Committee.
NETWORK
SECRETARY
Dr.
Louise Mason BSc MBBS MRCP
GMC
Registration Number: 6029553
CONTACT: louise.mason@regenmednetwork.com
PRINCIPLE
SPONSORS
Guy's, King's and St Thomas' Annual Fund
London
Regenerative Medicine Network
"Bringing the regenerative medicine, stem cell and tissue
engineering community together..."