Directed Differentiation and Disease Modeling
Human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-based models hold tremendous potential for studying human development and disease. Directed differentiation and disease modeling are two key methods for using hPSCs in drug discovery, cell therapy validation, and disease research.
- Directed differentiation of hPSCs refers to the in vitro differentiation of these cells toward a specific cell type through defined cell culture conditions. Directed differentiation is achieved by the addition of specific growth factors or small molecules.
- Disease modeling is an approach to study diseases using cells that display relevant pathological features. Disease modeling using hPSCs can be achieved by reproduction of a disorder-associated mutation with gene editing, isolation of embryonic stem cells (ESCs) from affected blastocysts; or generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from patients’ somatic cells.
Explore the resources below to support your disease modeling studies using hPSCs.
Highly Efficient Single-Cell Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Cloning and Robust Cardiomyocyte Differentiation
Recorded during the ISSCR 2017 Innovation Showcase in Boston, this tutorial highlights human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC) gene-editing and cardiac differentiation workflows using the CloneR™ supplement and the STEMdiff™ Cardiomyocyte System. This talk is presented by STEMCELL Technologies’ Dr. Adam Hirst, scientist for pluripotent stem cell biology, and Dr. Vincenzo Macri, senior scientist for cardiomyocyte stem cell biology.
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On-Demand Online Human Pluripotent Stem Cell (hPSC) Maintenance Course
Learn the key concepts of hPSC biology, hPSC characterization, and maintenance at your own pace with this digital course. You’ll gain access to lectures, step-by-step protocol videos, and a library of curated resources.
Live Virtual Training: hPSC Maintenance and Cell Quality
Interact with trainers during livestreamed lectures and laboratory demonstrations in this 9-hour, three-day course to learn essential techniques for culturing hPSCs in a feeder-independent system. You’ll also learn how to assess hPSC lines to build a well-characterized working cell bank.
Live Virtual Training: hPSC Reprogramming
Join hPSC culture instructors for livestreamed, interactive lectures and laboratory demonstrations in this 7-hour, two-day course. You’ll learn to generate iPS cells from human fibroblasts using a non-integrating, self-replicating RNA reprogramming vector as well as fundamental strategies to expand and characterize newly derived iPS cells to bank for experiments.
Hands-On Training in hPSC Reprogramming, Maintenance, and Differentiation
Attend in-person training with foundational lectures and guided hands-on practice sessions in labs across North America and Europe. Small class sizes and rotating topics ensure that our trainers can focus on your needs.
Note on COVID-19: We are continually assessing the situation and will resume hands-on training as soon as it is safe to do so.
