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Past Meetings and Conferences

Together Again: 2021 SCRMC Fall Conference Returns Researchers To Dynamic In-Person Event

On Oct. 7, 2021, nearly 80 undergraduates, graduate students, postdocs and faculty gathered at Union South for theStem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Center (SCRMC) Fall Conference, the organization’s first in-person conference since the outbreak of COVID last year.

Traditionally planned by SCRMC fellows, the conference provides a yearly opportunity for students and researchers in the stem-cell field to share their work through oral presentations and poster abstracts―and the big attraction, to hear keynote addresses from world-renowned researchers.

“Hopefully, everyone at every level learned something,” says Carissa Sirois of Connecticut, a post-doc on the planning committee who works at the Waisman Center studying Fragile X Syndrome, one of the most common genetic forms of autism. Sirois aspires to be a staff scientist someday and continue to use stem cells to make brain cells, and to study neurodevelopmental disorders.

Spearheading the conference were two renowned keynote speakers―Dr. Sandra Pinho, assistant professor of pharmacology at the University of Illinois at Chicago, and Dr. Sergei Doulatov, associate professor of hematology at the University of Washington School of Medicine. Sirois said the planning committee chose these guest speakers because of their complementary expertise in hematopoietic stem cell research.

“Also, we thought that newer faculty―who were postdocs and grad students not too long ago themselves―would have a great perspective and offer some helpful advice on how to start a lab and to navigate the transition to becoming a faculty member,” explains Sirois.

Approximately 30 students also had the opportunity to present their research at the poster fair and blitz talk sessions. Jack Maher, a 20-year-old junior in biomedical engineering, shared a poster outlining his research on “human embryonic stem cell-derived neural tissue morphology.” The Muskego, Wisconsin native says he has been interested in biomedical engineering since he was 12. “I want to combine my interest in medicine and healthcare with my natural, longtime love of engineering, so I am pursuing an MD-PhD in the clinical translation of regenerative medicine, specifically in neurology or rheumatology.”

Sarah Boutom of New Jersey is equally ambitious. A graduate student in the MD-PhD program, she aspires to be a physician scientist, dividing her time between research and clinical medicine, with a sub-specialty in anesthesiology. Boutom’s poster focused on the vascular endothelial cells of the blood-brain barrier. “I believe my basic research as a graduate student can contribute toward a better understanding of various neurovascular diseases.”

SCRMC Director Tim Kamp applauds the success of the event, saying, “The SCRMC training award recipients deserve credit for organizing a fantastic, in-person scientific conference. Two engaging, early-career investigators presented outstanding science on blood-cell development and provided insights into the mysterious transition from trainee to faculty.” Kamp adds that the presentations and blitz talks highlighted the depth of impactful stem cell and regenerative medicine research on campus.

The 2021 SCRMC Fall Conference was sponsored by the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), WiCell, Nikon and the Morgridge Institute.

Winning Photo from 2021 Fall Conference

The votes are in and the image that takes the prize for “Best Photo of the 2021 Fall Conference” is featured above. The photo was submitted by Miranda Sun from the Rob Lipinski Lab. The image was captured on a Keyence BZ-X700 fluorescent microscope with a 20X objective.

Miranda describes what we are seeing: “A 50-micrometer section of an 11-day-old mouse embryo head was stained for PECAM1 (green), laminin (red), and nuclei (blue) to delineate the blood vessels. The heart-shaped structure is the developing brain while the two vertical slits below will become the nostrils.”

Congratulations, Miranda!

Wisconsin Stem Cell Symposia

OVERVIEW: This Symposium is coordinated by the Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Center, at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the BTC Institute. It brought together leading researchers investigating human biology and disease with engineered human cells, organoids and tissues.

April 17, 2019: Stem Cells: Immune Tolerance and Immunotherapy 

April 18, 2018: 20 Years of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells: Current Clinical Trials and Regulatory Framework(View photos here.)

April 19, 2017: Engineering Cells and Tissues for Discovery and Therapy (View photos here.)

April 13, 2016: Stem Cells in the 4th Dimension: Mechanisms of Stem Cell Aging and Maturation (View photos here.)

April 22, 2015: Engineering Limb Regeneration: Recapitulating Normal Development and Regeneration (View photos here.)

April 30, 2014: From Stem Cells to Blood (View photos here.)

April 10, 2013: Cell-Based Therapy for Heart & Vascular Disease: Pathways to Clinic (View photos here.)

April 11, 2012: Neural Stem Cells: Generation & Regeneration

April 27, 2011: Reprogramming and Controlling Stem Cell Phenotype (View photos here.)

April 21, 2010: The Road to Stem Cell Applications

April 15, 2009: Cancer, Stem Cells & Cancer Stem Cells

April 16, 2008: Conserved Mechanisms of Stem Cell Control and Regeneration

April 18, 2007: Heart & Blood

April 19, 2006: Neural Stem Cells

Regenerative Medicine Innovator of Year

May 7, 2018: (View photos here.)

May 2, 2017: (View photos here.)

Faculty and Staff Retreats

Sept. 29, 2010; (View photos here.)

Sept. 17, 2009: (View photos here.)

SCRMC Fall Conference

OVERVIEW: This Conference is organized by the trainees of the SCRMC . The SCRMC Research Training Awards were established in 2008 to recognize and provide support for promising graduate students and postdoctoral fellows conducting stem cell and regenerative medicine research at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The SCRMC Research Training Awards Program provides unique, interdisciplinary training for future leaders in stem cell and regenerative medicine research. Starting in 2011, the SCRMC asked the recipients of this award to organize this meeting aimed at postdoctoral fellows and graduate students, primarily.

Sept. 21, 2018: Keynote Speakers: Marius Wernig, Stanford, and Igor Slukvin, UW-Madison Pathology & Laboratory Sciences  (View photos here.)

Sept. 15, 2017: Keynote Speakers: Ömer H. Yilmaz, MIT, and Kristyn Masters, UW-Madison Biomedical Engineering (View photos here.)

Sept. 30, 2016: Keynote Speakers: David Schaffer, UC-Berkeley and Peiman Hematti, UW Departments of Medicine and Pediatrics. (View photos here.)

Sept. 25, 2015: Keynote Speakers: Amy Wagers, Harvard University and Karen Downs, UW Department of Cell & Regenerative Biology.  (View photos here.)

Sept. 12, 2014: Keynote Speakers: Kevin Eggan, Harvard University and Randolph Ashton UW Department of Biomedical Engineering. (View photos here.)

Sept. 13, 2013: Keynote Speakers: Thomas Zwaka,  Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and Rupa Sridharan UW Department Cell & Regenerative Biology. (View photos here.)

Sept. 21, 2012: Keynote Speakers: Deepak Srivastava of UC-San Francisco and  David Gamm, UW Department of Ophthalmology & Visual Sciences. (View photos here.)

Sept. 16, 2011: Keynote Speaker: Dr. Kenneth Chien, (Harvard Stem Cell Institute.  (View photos here.)

National & International Meeting Participation

Regenerative Medicine Workshop

This annual workshop sells out each year at approximately 200 participants, and has a variety of sponsorship and exhibit opportunities with customized packages available. The intimate environment allows for a high level of access to all presenters and ample discussion time with attending faculty, trainees, industry participants and exhibitors. The program, which spans four days, has approximately 40 podium presentations and includes a poster session, debate/panel discussion and conference dinner event.
The organizing partners are the Regenerative Engineering and Medicine (REM) research center,  the McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine, Mayo Clinic’s Center for Regenerative Medicine, and the SCRMC. The SCRMC has been an organizing partner for this meeting since 2014.

World Stem Cell Summit

The World Stem Cell Summit is a project of the nonprofit Regenerative Medicine Foundation. Since 2003, Regenerative Medicine Foundation has built the strongest, most comprehensive and trusted global network for Regenerative Medicine, uniting the world’s leading researchers, medical centers, universities, labs, businesses, funders, policymakers, experts in law, regulation and ethics, medical philanthropies and patient organizations.

In 2008, Summit was held at the Alliant Energy Center in Madison and co-hosted by the UW-Madison Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center (SCRMC) and the WiCell Research Institute.

2008 World Summit Archives

News Articles about the Summit:

World  Stem Cell Summit Comes to Madison (UW Communications)

World Stem Cell Summit will reveal depth of Wisconsin’s R&D effort (http://wisconsintechnologycouncil.com)

’08 Stem Cell Summit an Eventful Case Study (ibmadison.com)

World Stem Cell Summit coming to Madison (WKOW.com)