Ep. 147: “Targeted Repair in Blood Stem and Progenitor Cells” Featuring Dr. Jennifer Adair

Guest:

Dr. Jennifer Adair is an Assistant Member in the Clinical Research Division at Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center. Her lab uses a combination of cell biology, molecular biology, chemistry, engineering, nanomedicine and bioinformatics to develop new gene therapy treatments for many different diseases, including cancer. Her goal is to develop safe, cost-effective and clinically relevant applications for gene therapy that can be implemented worldwide.

Featured Products and Resources:

• Science in Seattle
• StemSpan SFEM II

Resources and Links

Possible Drug Target for Heart Condition Identified – Researchers have found that a genetic mutation linked to dilated cardiomyopathy activates a signaling pathway that is normally turned off in healthy adult hearts.

Fibrosis Target Identified – Investigators have identified a protease that is activated by TGFβ that contributes to fibrosis development.

Improved Kidney Organoids – Scientists have developed a protocol for generating vascularized and functional human PSC-derived 3D kidney organoids, and used them to model disease.

New Tool for Immune Monitoring using Mass Cytometry – A mass cytometry workflow has been developed for identifying major immune cell lineages to improve biomarker discovery in immunotherapy trials.

Delayed Neurodevelopment in Zika-Exposed Children – In this prospective cohort study, the authors found that one third of children up to age three who were exposed to Zika in-utero had below-average neurological development.

Photo Reference: Courtesy of Dr. Jennifer Adair