Human Pluripotent Stem Cells for the Treatment of Age-Related Macular Degeneration and Compliance Considerations for Clinical-Grade iPSCs
In this talk, Drs. Sandra Petrus-Reurer and Álvaro Plaza Reyes share their research on using human pluripotent stem cell (hPSC)-derived retinal epithelial cells (RPE) to treat age-related macular degeneration (AMD) and describe the steps and hurdles associated with bringing an hPSC-derived product to the clinic. This seminar is followed by a presentation from Lynn Csontos, in-house quality expert from STEMCELL Technologies, who discusses compliance considerations for clinical-grade induced pluripotent stem cells.
About the Speakers
Dr. Sandra Petrus-Reurer is originally from Menorca, Spain, where she carried out her undergraduate studies in Biotechnology, before moving to Utrecht University in the Netherlands to join their Master program in Cancer, Stem Cells and Developmental Biology. With main interest in stem cell-based therapies for regenerative medicine, she carried out her doctoral studies at Karolinska Institute under the supervision of Drs. Anders Kvanta and Fredrik Lanner focused on the use of human embryonic stem cells for retinal repair in patients with age-related macular degeneration. Today Sandra is a postdoctoral researcher heading to Cambridge University at Dr. Saeb-Parsy’s lab to study the immunogenicity of stem cell-derived cells in humanized mice models.
Dr. Álvaro Plaza Reyes is originally from Cadiz, Spain, where he carried out his undergraduate studies in Biotechnology. He moved to Sweden to join the Master program in Biomedicine offered by Karolinska Institute, where he also ended up staying to perform his doctoral studies, at Dr. Fredrik Lanner’s laboratory. Álvaro has recently graduated as a PhD after dedicating 6 years to studying human early embryogenesis and developing xeno-free and scalable methodologies for the production of human stem cell-derived retinal cells with potential use in cell replacement therapies.
Lynn Csontos is the senior director of quality assurance and regulatory affairs at STEMCELL Technologies. Lynn has worked in the biotech industry for over 20 years, transitioning from chemical development into quality assurance and regulatory affairs, approximately halfway through her career. Although her background is primarily with small molecule API and drug products, she has been able to leverage her knowledge around regulation of small molecules, peptides, and lipids to navigate the regulatory landscape that is currently being defined for cellular therapy. Working at STEMCELL since 2008 she has had the opportunity to witness firsthand the ever-changing compliance requirements as they relate to regenerative medicine, and is excited to be part of an organization that is part of shaping the future landscape of this emerging field.
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