Penn Medicine to host symposium on regenerative medicine

The University of Pennsylvania's Institute for Regenerative Medicine will host a symposium on Friday, April 11, 2014 to detail the progress researchers are making toward reprogramming human cells to treat a variety of diseases.

In addition to talks on the basic science of regenerative medicine, Nobel laureate John Gurdon will present the keynote address entitled, "Past, Present and Future Prospects for Nuclear Reprogramming by Amphibian Eggs and Oocytes," and New York Times reporter Nicholas Wade will speak about "Regenerative Medicine: Promises and Perils."

When: Friday, April 11, 2014, 8:30am - 5:00pm

Where: BRB Auditorium, 421 Curie Blvd, Philadelphia, PA 19104

What: Agenda and other details can be found on the IRM web site.

Symposium schedule:

8:30 Introduction and Welcome
J. Larry Jameson, MD, PhD
Executive Vice-President, University of Pennsylvania for the Health System
Dean, Perelman School of Medicine
John Gearhart, PhD
Director, Institute for Regenerative Medicine

8:45 Keynote: Past, Present and Future Prospects for Nuclear Reprogramming by
Amphibian Eggs and Oocytes
John Gurdon, FRS, FMedSci
2012 Nobel Laureate in Physiology and Medicine
Wellcome Trust/Cancer Research UK Gurdon Institute
The Henry Wellcome Building of cancer and Developmental Biology

9:45 Progress Towards Instructing Our Cells for Therapies
John Gearhart, PhD

10:00 BREAK

10:15 Session 1: Pluripotency
Chair: Jon Epstein, MD
Chair, Department of Cell and Developmental Biology
10:20 Dissecting the Steps of Reprogramming to Pluripotency
Kathrin Plath, PhD
Associate Professor, Department of Biological Chemistry
University of California - Los Angeles
11:00 Mechanisms of Cellular Programming and Reprogramming
Ken Zaret, PhD
Professor, Cell and Developmental Biology
Associate Director, Institute for Regenerative Medicine
11:35 Regenerative Medicine: Promises and Perils
Nicholas Wade
Science Journalist and Author
New York Times

Noon LUNCH

1:00 Session 2: Developmental Biology
Chair: Chris Lengner, PhD
Assistant Professor
Animal Biology, School of Veterinary Medicine
Cell and Developmental Biology, Perelman School of Medicine
1:05 Hematopoietic Stem Cell Formation - Lessons from the Embryo
Nancy Speck, PhD
Professor, Cell and Developmental Biology
1:45 Functional Single Cell Genomics: The Importance of Variability
James Eberwine, PhD
Professor of Pharmacology
Co-Director, Penn Genome Frontiers Institute

2:25 BREAK

2:40 Session 3: Reprogramming Cell Fates
Chair: Nancy Speck, PhD
2:45 Experimental and (Patho)physiological Reprogramming in the Adult Liver
Kilang Yanger, PhD
Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Medicine
3:10 Transdifferentiation of Fibroblasts to Cardiomyocytes
Russ Addis, PhD
Sr. Research Investigator, Cell and Developmental Biology
3:40 Hair Follicle Stem Cells and Skin Regeneration
George Cotsarelis, MD
Chair, Department of Dermatology

4:20 Final Discussion on Cellular Reprogramming
Ken Zaret, PhD