December 5, 2017
11 am to 12 pm EST

Sponsored by

Webinar Description:
Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) are a valuable resource for modelling human disease and developing assay methods that will facilitate drug discovery by screening libraries of compounds to identify molecules that influence the course of disease progression at a cellular or molecular level. Generated from readily accessible somatic cell types such as blood or skin cells, iPSC combine extended proliferative capacity with the ability to differentiate into most of the cell types found in the adult body. They also offer the possibility to generate large numbers of separate somatic cell types or to construct 3D organoids that may be more representative of tissues in vivo.

Learning objectives:

• What are iPSCs and where do they come from?
• Learn why strict quality standards (cells and assays) need to be defined for drug discovery
• What can we make from iPSCs? Single cells versus organoids
• In what contexts can we successfully use iPSCs? Gain insights into disease modelling based on in vitro differentiated, patient-specific iPSC-derived cells as well as toxicity testing and the potential for regenerative medicine

Biographies

Dr Sandra Lubitz is VP for Stem Cell Biology at Evotec. She has a strong background in building human stem cell based models in both academic and industrial settings. Sandra received her PhD on stem cell self-renewal and differentiation from the International Max Planck Research School in Dresden. After spells at Genea BIOCELLS (Sydney, Australia) and Pfizer Regenerative Medicine (Neusentis) in Cambridge, UK, Sandra joined Evotec in 2011 and has played a key role in building the stem cell platform at Evotec and establishing human iPS cell-based model systems for phenotypic screening and drug discovery for neurodegenerative diseases.

Prof. Lyle Armstrong has extensive experience in the generation, culture and differentiation of pluripotent stem cells. He is a founding member of Newcells Biotech Ltd where he is responsible for scientific oversight of research and development operations and strategic direction of the company. Prof Armstrong holds the post of Professor of Cellular Reprogramming at Newcastle University