More than 75 graduate students, postdocs, and faculty members from the HSCI community gathered at Harvard Medical School to learn about iPS-derived neuron disease modeling from industry leaders.
"This club is designed to create a community across the Harvard universe of neuroscientists interested in stem cell technology, disease modeling, drug discovery, and regenerative applications for nervous system disorders," said Clifford Woolf, MD, PhD, of the recently formed Neuro Stem Club.
The first meeting of the club was held on Thursday, March 26, 2015 at Harvard Medical School. There, postdocs, graduate students and faculty alike listened to Novartis Institute of Biomedical Research scientists Ajamete Kaykas and Bilada Bilikan address managing quality control of iPS-derived neurons. Attendees took the opportunity to ask the scientists, who have experience creating disease models on a large scale, specific questions about iPS differentiation protocols.
"The first meeting was excellent, underscoring the promise of stem cell-based drug screening, the importance of links with industry, and that Boston/Cambridge is the biotech neuroscience capitol of the world," said Woolf. The club is run by postdocs and is meant to address their needs within the HSCI neuroscientist community. Woolf and Paola Arlotta, PhD, are the HSCI Nervous System directors and the club's co-mentors.
Open to the entire HSCI community, the club will hold quarterly meetings. The next meeting will address high throughput phenotyping.
To add your name to the Neuro Stem Club's mailing list, contact Claudia Rizzini (claudia_rizzini@harvard.edu).