The controversial STAP stem cell papers published in Nature had authors both from RIKEN in Japan and Brigham and Women’s Hospital/Harvard. What is the RIKEN interim take on the STAP cell situation? We’ve had pretty much silence from Harvard itself on this matter publicly. Dr. Charles Vacanti, senior author on one of the STAP papers, …
This past year of 2013 was a wild one for stem cells. 2014 looks to be just as cool and fun as 2013 as well as having at least as many freaky moments. What’s in store? Here’s your preview to whet your appetite for stem cell info, much you cannot get elsewhere including unique blog …
I’m really looking forward to this Saturday’s Berkeley Stem Cell Meeting. You should go! Tickets are just $5 and the lineup is great. This looks to be one of the best stem cell meetings in Northern California this year. Below is my interview with the organizers giving some background and perspectives on the meeting. 1. …
Interview With Organizers of Tomorrow’s Berkeley Stem Cell Meeting Read More »
I recently conducted an interview with Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg of Duke. You can see Part 1 of the interview here. Today in Part 2, I asked Dr. Kurtzberg some broader questions about the stem cell field. 1. How concerned are you about non-compliant stem cell interventions here in the US as well as stem cell …
Joanne Kurtzberg interview, Part 2: clinics & stem cell field future Read More »
Dr. Joanne Kurtzberg is a stem cell pioneer and has advanced the development of innovative stem cell therapies including those based on umbilical cord blood. She is a faculty member at Duke where she conducts her clinical research. I recently interviewed Dr. Kurtzberg and below is Part 1 of 2 of the interview. Part 2, …
Stem Cell Pioneer Joanne Kurtzberg interview, Part 1 Read More »
I’ve been fortunate to interview some of the greats in the stem cell field for this blog and host debates between key players. Please note that just because I have interviewed folks does not mean I agree with them or that they agree with me. The point is to establish dialogue on key issues. As …
One of the most important elements of science is critical reading of papers. Most of us come into science as undergrads feeling somewhat naive about what we read in papers. Our default tendency is to believe most or all that we read as “true”. As we get more experienced, we realize that in fact if …
Critically reading science papers: response to patient on MS stem cell literature Read More »
I deal with many patient advocates and that is one of my favorite parts of my job. They are wonderful! However some go above and beyond the call of duty and are model advocates in my opinion. Others do some great things, but also some negative things such as attacking the FDA publicly, which serves …
The model of a patient advocate: what are the key elements of success? Read More »
The Knoepfler Lab 2012 Stem Cell Person of the Year is Roman Reed. Congratulations, Roman! Roman made a tremendous difference in 2012 in many ways. One of the most notable was catalyzing the TJ Atchison Spinal Cord Injury Research Act in Alabama, which provides $400,000/year in funding for research. Of course, TJ and many others …
Here on The Niche I’m giving out a Stem Cell Person of the Year Award for 2012 along with all my other annual awards (e.g. best stem cell journal, paper, blog, comic, activist, etc). 2020 update: you can see future winners of the award here. The Person of the Year winner will get recognition for …
Stem Cell Person of the Year Finalists: time to vote Read More »