David Kent
Dr. David Kent is a Principal Investigator at the York Biomedical Research Institute (https://www.york.ac.uk/biology/research/infection-immunity/david-kent/). His laboratory's research focuses on the fundamental biology of blood stem cells and how changes in their regulation lead to cancers. David has a long history of public engagement and outreach including the creation of The Black Hole (https://www.universityaffairs.ca/opinion/the-black-hole/) in 2009. He has been writing for Signals since 2010.
Posts by: David
New technologies in stem cell biology and a call to reach back in time
I recently attended a special conference on Stem Cells, Development, and Cancer run by the American Association for Cancer Research (AACR) where Connie Eaves from the British Columbia Cancer Agency chaired a session entitled “Emerging Technologies” and said something that rang very true to me. She challenged the audience to read the papers from their […]
If you build it, they will come: money + resources = interdisciplinary teams
One of the most striking observations I have made since I began my stem cell training involves the hugely positive effects of substantial resources on the field of stem cell biology. Building on the momentum of two stunning advances in developmental biology in the late 1990s (cloning Dolly the sheep and creating of human embryonic […]
What’s next for stem cell biology: Royal Society Meeting October 2010
My last post was mostly centred on the lack of openness displayed by a growing number of scientists, but failed to comment on the wonderful array of findings that were presented by world leaders in stem cell biology. The Royal Society Meeting that took place in October was definitely designed “for scientists” and the juggernauts came out […]
Pre-emptive stem cell banking in high-risk individuals: Should Japan’s nuclear workers have their stem cells stored?
A few weeks back, The Guardian reported on a proposal by Japanese doctors and scientists that would see the blood cells of Japanese nuclear clean-up workers banked as a precaution against possible exposure to radiation during the clean-up of the Fukishima power plant. The idea would be to harvest and store their blood cells[1] and, should the […]