Archive for the ‘Events’ Category
The importance of unequal division in stem cells
. Stem cells must strike a balance between different types of divisional outcomes in order to provide the correct numbers and types of cells for the lifetime of an organism. At each cell division, a stem cell either makes two replicates of itself to expand the population (a self-renewal division), makes two highly proliferating cells…Read more
Why the pen is sometimes mightier than the pipette – Part 2
. Last week I posted a summary of the first half of a full day Communications for Scientists workshop organized by the Stem Cell Network. This post picks up where I left off, with a description of a “Dragon’s Den” style pitch session intended to introduce trainees to necessary communications skills within a commercialization context. The…Read more
Why the pen is sometimes mightier than the pipette – Part 1
. If Edward Bulwer-Lytton were a biologist two centuries ago, he might have quipped that the pen is mightier than the pipette instead of immortalizing the sword in his expression. Yet phrases emphasizing the power of words have been around for nearly three thousand years and are more relevant to your science than you might…Read more
Master debaters have bone (marrow) to pick at StemCellTalks Toronto
I’ve always had an interest in the science of bone marrow transplants, ever since my nephew, Simon, was diagnosed with aplastic anemia at the age of two. Although it was a traumatic time for his parents and extended family, the story has a happy ending. His four-year-old brother was a bone marrow match and the…Read more
Awakening in Toronto
We’ve posted several times in the past on exhibits and events where stem cells feature not just as a subject of scientific study, but as works of art. In this we are not alone — in addition to our own Cells I See art contest, shows at the Ontario Science Centre and the critically-acclaimed Perceptions…Read more
ISCT meeting: a balance of business and academia that works
With rain, rain and more rain in the forecast, I was more than happy to escape wet and dreary Vancouver and attend the 18th International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT) annual meeting, which took place in Seattle, Washington last month. The weather was (slightly) drier and there was plenty of stem cell eye candy to…Read more
Lessons in pluripotency from ISSCR 2012
Pluripotency describes the potential of a stem cell to differentiate into any cell type in the body. Embryonic stem cells derived from the early pre-implantation embryo are pluripotent as well as their engineered counterparts, iPSCs (induced pluripotent stem cells). Many labs have focused on understanding the gene regulatory networks maintaining pluripotency. This knowledge allowed Kazutoshi…Read more
Narrowing in on a career: a graduate student contemplates the business side of regenerative medicine
By S. Amanda Ali As a fifth year PhD student in the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto, thoughts of what-to-do-next are always lurking in the back of my mind. Having ruled out conventional routes for graduate students in biomedical science – postdoctoral fellowships, medical school, other professional schools – I’ve considered…Read more