Monthly Archives: July 2022

Haifan Lin takes on new role as President of the ISSCR – EurekAlert

Posted: July 3, 2022 at 2:23 am

image:Haifan Lin assumes the role of ISSCR president. view more

Credit: Yale University School of Medicine, USA

TheISSCR is pleased to announce Haifan Lin, PhD, Yale University School of Medicine, USA, as its President. Dr. Lins one-year term of office leading the global Society begins today.

It is a great honor for me to assume the ISSCR presidency during the 20th anniversary year of the Societys founding, Dr. Lin said. In the past 20 years, the ISSCR has embodied our shared passion for stem cell research. The remarkable growth of the Society is driven by our members exciting research and discoveries, many of which are being translated into lifesaving treatments and new approaches in drug development for the benefit of humanity.

Dr. Lin urged, In a time challenged by the persisting pandemic as well as by polarizing geopolitical forces and a devastating war, there is more need and more urgency for ISSCR to serve as a haven for stem cell researchers from all over the world to work together synergistically for the benefit of all mankind, regardless of race, color, religion, gender, and national origin. He pledged, to work closely with members, the board, and the staff to actively expend our global engagement in both academia and industry during my presidency.

Haifan Lin is the Eugene Higgins Professor of Cell Biology and founding Director of Yale Stem Cell Center at Yale University School of Medicine, a Member of US National Academy of Sciences, a Member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and a Foreign Member of Chinese Academy of Sciences.

Dr. Lin studies the self-renewing mechanism of stem cells, stem cell-related cancers, and germline development, using Drosophila germline stem cells, mouse germline and embryonic stem cells, Hydra stem cells, and human cancer cells as models. He has made key contributions to the demonstration of stem cell asymmetric division and the proof of the stem cell niche theory. He discovered the Argonaute/Piwi gene family and their essential function in stem cell self-renewal and germline development and demonstrated their crucial function in breast and colon cancers. He is a discoverer of PIWI-interacting RNAs (piRNAs), a discovery hailed by the Science magazine as one of the 10 Scientific Breakthroughs in 2006. Recently, he proposed and demonstrated the crucial roles of the Piwi-piRNA pathway in epigenetic programming and in post-transcriptional regulation of mRNA and lncRNA.

Amander T. Clark, PhD, University of California, Los Angeles, USA is President-Elect and will serve as President in 2023. Valentina Greco, PhD, Yale Stem Cell Center, USA is the new Vice President and Clive Svendsen, PhD, Cedars-Sinai Regenerative Medicine Institute, USA, is the Societys new Treasurer.

Helen Blau, PhD, Stanford University School of Medicine, USA, and Kathy Niakan, PhD, University of Cambridge, UK were elected as new Board Members and begin their three-year terms 1 July 2022. Arnold Kriegstein, MD, PhD, University of California, San Francisco, USA and Kenneth Zaret, PhD, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USA were re-appointed to another term.

Learn more.

About the International Society for Stem Cell Research (www.isscr.org)With more than 4,400 members from more than 70 countries, the International Society for Stem Cell Research is the preeminent global, cross-disciplinary, science-based organization dedicated to stem cell research and its translation to the clinic. The ISSCR mission is to promote excellence in stem cell science and applications to human health. Additional information about stem cell science is available at A Closer Look at Stem Cells, an initiative of the Society to inform the public about stem cell research and its potential to improve human health.

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UCI-led team discovers signaling molecule that potently stimulates hair growth – UCI News

Posted: July 3, 2022 at 2:23 am

Irvine, Calif., June 30, 2022 University of California, Irvine-led researchers have discovered that a signaling molecule called SCUBE3 potently stimulates hair growth and may offer a therapeutic treatment for androgenetic alopecia, a common form of hair loss in both women and men.

The study, published online today in Developmental Cell, determined the precise mechanism by which the dermal papilla cells specialized signal-making fibroblasts at the bottom of each hair follicle promote new growth. Although its well known that dermal papilla cells play a pivotal role in controlling hair growth, the genetic basis of the activating molecules involved has been poorly understood.

At different times during the hair follicle life cycle, the very same dermal papilla cells can send signals that either keep follicles dormant or trigger new hair growth, said Maksim Plikus, Ph.D., UCI professor of developmental & cell biology and the studys corresponding author. We revealed that the SCUBE3 signaling molecule, which dermal papilla cells produce naturally, is the messenger used to tell the neighboring hair stem cells to start dividing, which heralds the onset of new hair growth.

The production of activating molecules by the dermal papilla cells is critical for efficient hair growth in mice and humans. In people with androgenetic alopecia, dermal papilla cells malfunction, greatly reducing the normally abundant activating molecules. A mouse model with hyperactivated dermal papilla cells and excessive hair, which will facilitate more discoveries about hair growth regulation, was developed for this research.

Studying this mouse model permitted us to identify SCUBE3 as the previously unknown signaling molecule that can drive excessive hair growth, said co-first author Yingzi Liu, a UCI postdoctoral researcher in developmental & cell biology.

Further tests validated that SCUBE3 activates hair growth in human follicles. Researchers microinjected SCUBE3 into mouse skin in which human scalp follicles had been transplanted, inducing new growth in both the dormant human and surrounding mouse follicles.

These experiments provide proof-of-principle data that SCUBE3 or derived molecules can be a promising therapeutic for hair loss, said co-first author Christian Guerrero-Juarez, a UCI postdoctoral researcher in mathematics.

Currently, there are two medications on the market finasteride and minoxidil that are approved by the Food and Drug Administration for androgenetic alopecia. Finasteride is only approved for use in men. Both drugs are not universally effective and need to be taken daily to maintain their clinical effect.

There is a strong need for new, effective hair loss medicines, and naturally occurring compounds that are normally used by the dermal papilla cells present ideal next-generation candidates for treatment, Plikus said. Our test in the human hair transplant model validates the preclinical potential of SCUBE3.

UCI has filed a provisional patent application on the use of SCUBE3 and its related molecular compounds for hair growth stimulation. Further research will be conducted in the Plikus lab and at Amplifica Holdings Group Inc., a biotechnology company co-founded by Plikus.

The study team included health professionals and academics from UCI, San Diego, China, Japan, Korea and Taiwan.

This work was supported by LEO Foundation grants LF-AW-RAM-19-400008 and LF-OC-20-000611; Chan Zuckerberg Initiative grant AN-0000000062; W.M. Keck Foundation grant WMKF-5634988; National Science Foundation grants DMS1951144 and DMS1763272; National Institutes of Health grants U01-AR073159, R01-AR079470, R01-AR079150, R21-AR078939 and P30-AR075047; Simons Foundation grant 594598; the National Natural Science Foundation of China; the NNSFCs Major Research Plan training program; and Taiwans Ministry of Science and Technology.

About UCIs Brilliant Future campaign:Publicly launched on Oct. 4, 2019, the Brilliant Future campaign aims to raise awareness and support for UCI. By engaging 75,000 alumni and garnering $2 billion in philanthropic investment, UCI seeks to reach new heights of excellence instudent success, health and wellness, research and more. The School of Biological Sciences plays a vital role in the success of the campaign. Learn more by visitinghttps://brilliantfuture.uci.edu/school-of-biological-sciences.

About the University of California, Irvine:Founded in 1965, UCI is the youngest member of the prestigious Association of American Universities and is ranked among the nations top 10 public universities byU.S. News & World Report. The campus has produced five Nobel laureates and is known for its academic achievement, premier research, innovation and anteater mascot. Led by Chancellor Howard Gillman, UCI has more than 36,000 students and offers 224 degree programs. Its located in one of the worlds safest and most economically vibrant communities and is Orange Countys second-largest employer, contributing $7 billion annually to the local economy and $8 billion statewide.For more on UCI, visitwww.uci.edu.

Media access: Radio programs/stations may, for a fee, use an on-campus ISDN line to interview UCI faculty and experts, subject to availability and university approval. For more UCI news, visit news.uci.edu. Additional resources for journalists may be found at communications.uci.edu/for-journalists.

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Organoids reveal similarities between myotonic dystrophy type 1 and Rett syndrome – EurekAlert

Posted: July 3, 2022 at 2:23 am

Myotonic dystrophy type 1 (DM1) is the most common form of muscular dystrophy, characterized by progressive muscle wasting and weakness and caused by abnormally repetitive DNA segments that are transcribed into toxic molecules of RNA. Instead of ferrying a gene's instructions for translation into proteins, these RNA molecules accumulate in cells, disrupting cellular machinery.

Rett syndrome (RS) is a rare genetic neurological disorder that affects the way the brain develops, resulting in progressive loss of motor skills and language early in life.

Writing in the June 29, 2022 online issue of Science Translational Medicine, researchers at University of California San Diego School of Medicine used three-dimensional brain organoids self-organized tissue grown from stem cells that mimics neurological functions to discover fundamental similarities between DM1 and RS, and perhaps therapeutic opportunities.

"We turned to 3D brain organoids that simulate the developing human cortex to study the effects of the CTG repeat expansion on neuronal processes," said first author Kathryn Morelli, PhD, a fellow in the lab of senior author Gene Yeo, PhD, professor of cellular and molecular medicine at UC San Diego School of Medicine.

"It's a model that can be made from induced pluripotent stem cell lines from real DM1 patients that carry these toxic RNA aggregates. It mimics cortical development in utero."

Unlike other types of muscular dystrophy, patients with DM1 often exhibit progressive neurocognitive symptoms, with learning and social impediments that can appear similar to autism spectrum disorders. Recent clinical data has shown that the higher the number of inherited DNA repeats, the earlier the onset of symptoms and the greater the impact of the disease on the central nervous system.

Modern DM1 treatments target only skeletal and heart muscle defects. Research by Yeo and colleagues has shown that RNA-targeting CRISPR/Cas proteins can bind to repetitive RNA in live human cells and reverse markers of disease in the skeletal muscle of mouse models of DM1.

Still, the absence of a cellular model of the human brain limited our understanding of how toxic RNA can cause cognitive symptoms, and hindered efforts to develop an effective holistic therapy, said Morelli.

In the latest study, researchers packaged a compact RNA-targeting CRISPR/Cas protein into viral vectors, then added them to DM1 brain organoids. They found that the proteins destroyed toxic RNA aggregates, with scientists able to observe and control the cascade of events.

The team has focused on a model in which toxic RNA traps a special class of proteins called RNA binding proteins or RBPs. "In cortical organoids, we were surprised to find that another RBP called CELF2 protein was dysregulated in glutamatergic neurons, which are responsible for excitatory signaling in the brain," said Yeo.

Using the enhanced cross-linking and immunoprecipitation technologies pioneered in the lab, Morelli and colleagues discovered that CELF2 did not bind its normal targets: genes in the methyl-CpG binding protein 2 (MECP2) pathway that are crucial for neuron function. Mutations that result in the loss of MECP2's normal function cause RS.

The findings, said the authors, suggestion a possible convergence in neurodevelopment defects in DM1 and RS. Morelli noted that clinical trials are underway to evaluate the therapeutic potential of N-methyl-d-aspartic acid (NMDA) antagonists for treating patients with RS. NMDA receptors are believed to be important in controlling synaptic plasticity and mediating learning and memory functions.

In DM1 organoids, Morelli found that NMDA antagonists reversed key features of the disease, suggesting that targeting NMDA receptors might ameliorate cognitive impairments in young patients with DM1, and substantially improve their quality of life.

Co-authors include: Wenhao Jin, Shashank Shathe, Assael A. Madrigal, Krysten L. Jones, Joshua L. Schwartz, Tristan Bridges, Jasmine R. Mueller, Archana Shankar, Isaac A. Chaim, all at UC San Diego; and John W. Day, Stanford University.

# # #

Science Translational Medicine

29-Jun-2022

Yeo is a co-founder, member of the board of directors, equity holder and paid consultant for Locanabio and BioInnovations, and a Scientific Adviser and paid consultant to Jumpcode Genomics. He is also a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the National University of Singapore.

Disclaimer: AAAS and EurekAlert! are not responsible for the accuracy of news releases posted to EurekAlert! by contributing institutions or for the use of any information through the EurekAlert system.

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Calidi Biotherapeutics Announces Appointment of W.K. Alfred Yung, M.D., to its Medical Advisory Board – Business Wire

Posted: July 3, 2022 at 2:23 am

LA JOLLA, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Calidi Biotherapeutics, Inc., a clinical-stage biotechnology company that is pioneering the development of stem cell-based delivery of oncolytic viruses, today announced the appointment of W.K. Alfred Yung, M.D., Professor, Neuro-Oncology at the MD Anderson Cancer Center, to its Medical Advisory Board.

We are inspired by clinician-scientists like Dr. Yung who have dedicated their careers to advancing care for patients with deadly cancers, such as glioblastoma, for which there are few effective treatments, said Allan J. Camaisa, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of Calidi. As clinical trials studying the safety and efficacy of Calidis oncolytic virus-based therapies progress, the expertise of seasoned clinicians like Dr. Yung will help us further our understanding of the benefits of these drugs to patients.

Dr. Yung is a fixture in the treatment of brain cancers with extensive experience studying glioblastoma, the deadliest form of brain cancer. He built the neuro-oncology department at MD Anderson Cancer Center, served as co-chair of the National Cancer Institute Brain Malignancy Steering Committee, and advised President Bidens Cancer Moonshot Initiative. Dr. Yung has published more than 350 peer-reviewed articles and served as the editor-in-chief of Neuro-Oncology.

Despite many promising new advancements in precision medicine for many cancers, glioblastoma remains one of the deadliest cancers with limited treatment successes and poor patient quality of life, said W. K. Alfred Yung, M.D. I see great promise in the potential of Calidi Biotherapeutics therapeutic vaccine which shields cancer-fighting oncolytic viruses in stem cells, helping protect the virus from a patients immune system until it reaches the cancer cell. If this approach proves successful in human trials, it could be a game changer not just for the treatment of brain cancers, but for other solid tumor cancers too.

About Calidi Biotherapeutics

Calidi Biotherapeutics is a clinical-stage immuno-oncology company with proprietary technology that is revolutionizing the effective delivery of oncolytic viruses for targeted therapy against difficult-to-treat cancers. Calidi Biotherapeutics is advancing through the FDA approval process a potent allogeneic stem cell and oncolytic virus combination for use in multiple oncology indications. Calidis off-the-shelf, universal cell-based delivery platform is designed to protect, amplify, and potentiate oncolytic viruses currently in development leading to enhanced efficacy and improved patient safety. Calidi Biotherapeutics is headquartered in La Jolla, California. For more information, please visit http://www.calidibio.com.

Forward-Looking Statement

This press release contains forward-looking statements for purposes of the safe harbor provisions under the United States Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. Terms such as anticipates, believe, continue, could, estimate, expect, intends, may, might, plan, possible, potential, predicts, project, should, would as well as similar terms, are forward-looking in nature. The forward-looking statements contained in this discussion are based on the Calidis current expectations and beliefs concerning future developments and their potential effects. There can be no assurance that future developments affecting Calidi will be those that it has anticipated. These forward-looking statements involve a number of risks, uncertainties (some of which are beyond Calidis control) or other assumptions that may cause actual results or performance to be materially different from those expressed or implied by these forward-looking statements. Factors that may cause actual results to differ materially from current expectations include, but are not limited to: the occurrence of any event, change or other circumstances that could give rise to the termination of negotiations and any subsequent definitive agreements with respect to the business combination (the Business Combination) with Edoc Acquisition Corp. (Edoc); the outcome of any legal proceedings that may be instituted against Edoc, Calidi, the combined company or others following the announcement of the Business Combination, the private placement financing proposed to be consummated concurrently with the Business Combination (the PIPE), and any definitive agreements with respect thereto; the inability to complete the Business Combination due to the failure to obtain approval of the shareholders of Edoc, the possibility that due diligence completed following execution of the principal definitive transaction documents for the Business Combination and PIPE will not be satisfactorily concluded, the inability to complete the PIPE or other financing needed to complete the Business Combination, or to satisfy other conditions to closing; changes to the proposed structure of the Business Combination that may be required or appropriate as a result of applicable laws or regulations or as a condition to obtaining regulatory approval of the Business Combination; the ability to meet stock exchange listing standards following the consummation of the Business Combination; the risk that the Business Combination disrupts current plans and operations of Calidi as a result of the announcement and consummation of the Business Combination; the ability to recognize the anticipated benefits of the Business Combination or to realize estimated pro forma results and underlying assumptions, including with respect to estimated shareholder redemptions; costs related to the Business Combination; changes in applicable laws or regulations; the evolution of the markets in which Calidi competes; the inability of Calidi to defend its intellectual property and satisfy regulatory requirements; the ability to implement business plans, forecasts, and other expectations after the completion of the proposed Business Combination, and identify and realize additional opportunities; the risk of downturns and a changing regulatory landscape in the highly competitive pharmaceutical industry; the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on Calidis business; and other risks and uncertainties set forth in the section entitled Risk Factors and Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Statements in Edocs preliminary prospectus dated March 16, 2022, in the Registration Statement on Form S-4 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) on March 16, 2022.

Important Information About the Business Combination Transaction and Where to Find It

This press release relates to a proposed business combination between Edoc Acquisition Corp. a Cayman Islands exempted company, EDOC Merger Sub Inc., a Nevada corporation and Calidi Biotherapeutics, Inc., a Nevada corporation. A full description of the terms and conditions Agreement and Plan of Merger constituting the business combination is provided in the registration statement on Form S-4 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) by Edoc Acquisition Corp., that includes a prospectus with respect to the securities to be issued in connection with the merger, and information with respect to an extraordinary meeting of Edoc Acquisition Corp. shareholders to vote on the merger and related transactions. Edoc Acquisition Corp. and Calidi Biotherapeutics, Inc. urges its investors, shareholders and other interested persons to read the proxy statement and prospectus as well as other documents filed with the SEC because these documents will contain important information about Calidi Biotherapeutics, Inc., Edoc Acquisition Corp., and the business combination transaction. After the registration statement is declared effective, the definitive proxy statement and prospectus to be included in the registration statement will be distributed to shareholders of Edoc Acquisition Corp. and Calidi Biotherapeutics, Inc., as of a record date to be established for voting on the proposed merger and related transactions. Shareholders may obtain a copy of the Form S-4 registration statement, including the proxy statement and prospectus, and other documents filed with the SEC without charge, by directing a request to: Edoc Acquisition Corp. at 7612 Main Street Fishers, Suite 200, Victor, New York 14564. The preliminary and definitive proxy statement and prospectus included in the registration statement can also be obtained, without charge, at the SECs website (www.sec.gov).

Participation in the Solicitation

Edoc Acquisition Corp., Calidi Biotherapeutics, Inc., and their respective directors and executive officers may be deemed to be participants in the solicitation of proxies or consents from Edoc Acquisition Corp. and Calidi Biotherapeutics, Inc. shareholders in connection with the proposed transaction. A list of the names of the directors and executive officers of Edoc Acquisition Corp. and Calidi Biotherapeutics, Inc. and information regarding their interests in the business combination transaction is contained in the proxy statement and prospectus. You may obtain free copies of these documents as described in the preceding paragraph.

No Offer or Solicitation

This press release will not constitute a solicitation of a proxy, consent or authorization with respect to any securities or in respect of the proposed business combination. This press release will also not constitute an offer to sell or the solicitation of an offer to buy any securities of Calidi Biotherapeutics, Inc., nor will there be any sale of securities in any states or jurisdictions in which such offer, solicitation or sale would be unlawful prior to registration or qualification under the securities laws of any such jurisdiction. No offering of securities will be made except by means of a prospectus meeting the requirements of section 10 of the Securities Act of 1933, as amended, or an exemption therefrom.

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Our View: Roe reversal hard hit to science – The Durango Herald

Posted: July 3, 2022 at 2:23 am

Its open season on fundamental rights, now that the Supreme Court has reversed Roe v. Wade and other landmark abortion rights cases, despite more than 60% of Americans saying abortion should be legal in all or most cases.

For those in favor of this ruling, were not hearing them cheer on the decision from a constitutional position. Instead, its based on religious and moral beliefs. Weve prayed and lobbied for this for 50 years, they say. As states scramble to regulate or eliminate abortion, we see more fallout to come.

One being, the high courts decision is disastrous for science.

The vast world of medical research, procedures and the development of critical medicines and vaccines will be severely impacted. This advanced work relies on human fetal tissue.

Fetal tissue obtained from elective abortions is uniquely adaptable and valuable to medical researchers. The tissue has been crucial in understanding normal fetal development and studies of neurological and infectious diseases, including HIV, heart disease, diabetes, Parkinson's and COVID-19. Common vaccines, such as chicken pox, rubella and shingles, were created using human fetal tissue.

Lawrence Goldstein, a distinguished professor at the University of California San Diego School of Medicine, told NPR that because fetal cells are not fully developed, they are useful in, for example, developing replacement organs.

If you're trying to make a kidney from stem cells, you'd like to know that as the cells begin going down the kidney development path that they're doing it normally," Goldstein said. Comparison to early fetal kidney cells that are doing it normally tells you that you're on the right track or not."

In 2021, the Biden administration reversed restrictions on fetal tissue research put in place by former President Trump in 2019. In the throes of the pandemic, Trump basically ended highly meritorious research projects that had already been through multiple layers of scientific and ethical reviews.

In March 2020, research institutions and medical foundations appealed to the Trump administration to lift restrictions to enable COVID-19 studies. We can only speculate how many lives may have been saved, schools kept open, and businesses and economies left to thrive if researchers had the opportunity to do the work directly in front of them. The World Health Organization estimates the number of global deaths attributable to the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 alone is at least 3 million.

After restrictions were lifted, the U.S. National Institutes of Health no longer had to adhere to both a ban on studies and an ethical review from conservative board members opposed to abortion. Proponents of human fetal tissue research argue this endeavor is morally separate from abortion.

Longstanding, required ethical processes were already in place before the Trump administration stacked this board. The board became the place where federal funding applications went to die. Board members prevented work based on religious and moral grounds.

Conservative judges acted in this same way. The dissent opinion (by Justices Stephen Breyer, Elena Kagan and Sonia Sotomayor) said it plainly: The majority makes radical change too easy and too fast, based on nothing more than the new views of new judges. The majority has overruled Roe and Casey for one and only one reason: because it has always despised them, and now it has the votes to discard them. The majority thereby substitutes a rule by judges for the rule of law.

Giving a subject in a human trial or patient a drug thats already been tested on human tissue in a Petri dish is less likely to cause harm. This is socially responsible and for the greater good.

Consequences from the reversal of Roe v. Wade will continue to creep into our lives. The hard hit to scientific research is just one of them.

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Huntsville native among TIMEs 100 most influential people – WHNT News 19

Posted: July 3, 2022 at 2:21 am

HUNTSVILLE, Ala. (WHNT) Its an honor only 100 people get every year, a spot on TIMEs most influential people list. This year, a scientist from Huntsville earned that honor because of her work on the Human Genome Project.

Karen Miga is a Buckhorn High School graduate. She told News 19 that her teachers and experiences throughout high school in the Rocket City shaped her into the researcher and scientist she is today.

After high school, Karen got her Bachelors of Science degree at The University of Tennessee before heading to Cleveland, Ohio and getting a Masters Degree in Genetics at Case Western University. Afterward, she headed to Duke University and obtained her Ph.D. in Evolutionary Genetics.

Now, Karen is an Assistant Professor at The University of California, Santa Cruz teaching Biomolecular Engineering. But, TIME is recognizing Karen for her work on the Human Genome Project.

The human genome was first mapped in 2001, but according to scientists, it was not entirely accurate nor complete. So, Karen helped lead a team of international scientists, known as the Telomere-to-Telomere Consortium, or T2T, to complete the first gapless sequence of the human genome.

I started my career when the human genome was first announced and it was clear to me at the time there were large and persistent gaps that the rest world, except for some in the scientific community, were largely ignoring, Karen told News 19.

So, before she became a co-founder of the T2T consortium she was already building a career studying the human genome sequence gaps. Through her studies, she knew there was a lot more to explore.

When I finally reached a point where I knew technology could close some of these regions, thats when I was able to team up with Adam Phillipe who is the other co-founder and is involved with the computational putting together really difficult parts of the genome, Karen explained. So, its this balanced expertise of knowing about these sequences, studying them, then the computational process.

Karen credits a lot of her excitement for science with growing up in the Rocket City. Huntsville has always been this champion for research, she told News 19. Theres always been a tremendous amount of PhDs and folks who are rocket scientists around and there is an appreciation for science.

Karen joins many influential names on the list including President Biden, Ketanji Brown Jackson who was confirmed to fill retiring Justice Stephen Breyers seat, and singer Adele, among many others. She told News 19 TIMEs willingness to diversify who they consider influential is imperative for the science industry.

I think theyve been consistently putting science on the same platform with these important milestones met politically, as well as artists and folks who are making a difference with law in our legal system and Supreme Court Justices, Karen explained.

She also believes the COVID-19 pandemic opened peoples eyes to the importance of science. Weve all seen with the pandemic how important science is and what it means to have a vaccine and the health risks, Karen shared. Science is so important to every aspect of our life but we dont get a lot of exposure to the scientists themselves.

She hopes the upcoming elementary and high school students in the Rocket City take advantage of the research and opportunities around them.

Most of us who are getting these awards started with a single step forward, with a question we were passionate about, building that type of momentum over time, itll pay off, and its never easy and never a direct path but the process of getting there is really an enriching thing, Karen said.

Karens words to those with big dreams, Goals can sometimes seem daunting when you are young, but with continuous hard work, you can change the world.

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New hope for IVF patients as global study published in Human Reproduction shows AI can effectively assess genetic integrity of embryos – Yahoo Finance

Posted: July 3, 2022 at 2:21 am

SAN FRANCISCO, June 28, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Human Reproduction journal has published the ground-breaking results of an international clinical study, where a novel AI algorithm called Life Whisperer Genetics was developed by AI healthcare company Presegen to assess the genetic integrity of embryos using only images. The assessment is non-invasive, low-cost, and provides results instantly. This is in stark contrast with PGT-A, the standard method used in IVF today, which requires an invasive and potentially risky biopsy to remove a portion of the embryo, followed by an expensive and time-consuming genetic testing procedure.

Presagen Logo

The study was conducted with IVF clinics globally, including Ovation Fertility (USA), IVF-Life (Europe), Alpha IVF & Women's Specialists (SE Asia), and Wings IVF (India). Results showed that the AI algorithm could identify whether an embryo was genetically normal, or 'euploid'. Identification of euploid embryos can result in improved clinical outcomes, such as a better chance at pregnancy success.

Presagen's Chief Medical Science Officer Dr Sonya Diakiw explained "Because this assessment is based on images alone, it is not as accurate as PGT-A itself, which involves actual DNA sequencing. But we are finding that PGT-A results themselves can be variable, as they depend on the embryo sample being tested. PGT-A only tests 5 cells from a total of around 200, so it is not always representative of the entire embryo. Life Whisperer Genetics is a whole-embryo assessment of genetic integrity that does not require any invasive procedures, which can be used to prioritize embryos for use in IVF procedures."

The technology was evaluated prospectively on patients in Europe in collaboration with the IVF-Life Group. Dr Jon Aizpurua from IVF-Life said "Life Whisperer Genetics can be used for patients as a pre-screen, to ensure we only genetically test embryos that are likely to be normal, saving patients time and money. For patients who are not comfortable with invasive genetic tests, or in countries like Germany where invasive genetic tests are not permitted, Life Whisperer Genetics is a viable alternative to help select embryos that are most likely to be euploid."

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Prospective studies were also performed in collaboration with Alpha IVF & Women's Specialists in Malaysia. Chief Embryologist Adelle Yun Xin Lim said "Computer vision with AI may revolutionise IVF treatment and this new technique is another milestone of AI in IVF. The technique will help doctors and embryologists around the world to predict the chromosome status of embryos in a rapid and non-invasive manner enabling the prioritization of embryos that are likely to be euploid for transfer or for further confirmatory PGT testing, leading to a faster time to pregnancy and reducing the cost of the treatment."

Ovation Fertility's VP of Scientific Advancement, Dr Matthew (Tex) VerMilyea said "This new product is very exciting. In some ways it is like a 'Rapid Antigen Test (RAT)' for embryo assessment, providing a non-invasive, instantaneous evaluation of genetic integrity, which will have massive potential for the US market when it receives FDA approval."

Life Whisperer Genetics is already available for IVF clinics and their patients in over 40 countries globally. It can be used in combination with Life Whisperer Viability, which assesses if an embryo is likely to lead to a pregnancy. International clinical studies have shown that Life Whisperer Viability can perform better than embryologists' current manual embryo assessment methods. Together, Life Whisperer Viability and Life Whisperer Genetics provide a comprehensive assessment of embryo quality.

Paper Title

Development of an artificial intelligence model for predicting the likelihood of human embryo euploidy based on blastocyst images from multiple imaging systems during IVF

https://academic.oup.com/humrep/advance-article/doi/10.1093/humrep/deac131/6604228

Authors

S. M. Diakiw1, J. M. M. Hall1,2,3, M. D. VerMilyea4,5, J. Amin6, J. Aizpurua7, L. Giardini7, Y. G. Briones7, A. Y. X. Lim8, M. A. Dakka1, T. V. Nguyen1, D. Perugini1, M. Perugini1,9

Life Whisperer Diagnostics (a subsidiary of Presagen), San Francisco, CA, USA, and Adelaide, SA, Australia

Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Nanoscale BioPhotonics, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia

School of Physical Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Ovation Fertility, Nashville, Tennessee, USA

Texas Fertility Center, Austin, Texas, USA

Wings IVF Women's Hospital, Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India

IVF-Spain, Alicante, Spain

Alpha IVF & Women's Specialists, Petaling Jaya, Selangor, Malaysia

Adelaide Medical School, Faculty of Health Sciences, The University of Adelaide, Adelaide, SA, Australia

Paper Abstract

STUDY QUESTION

Can an artificial intelligence (AI) model predict human embryo ploidy status using static images captured by optical light microscopy?

SUMMARY ANSWER

Results demonstrated predictive accuracy for embryo euploidy, and showed a significant correlation between AI score and euploidy rate, based on assessment of images of blastocysts at Day 5 after IVF.

MAIN RESULTS AND THE ROLE OF CHANCE

Overall accuracy for prediction of euploidy on a blind test dataset was 65.3%, with a sensitivity of 74.6%. When the blind test dataset was cleansed of poor quality and mislabeled images, overall accuracy increased to 77.4%. This performance may be relevant to clinical situations where confounding factors, such as variability in PGT-A testing, have been accounted for. There was a significant positive correlation between AI score and the proportion of euploid embryos, with very high scoring embryos (9.0-10.0) twice as likely to be euploid than the lowest scoring embryos (0.0-2.4). When using the genetics AI model to rank embryos in a cohort, the probability of the top-ranked embryo being euploid was 82.4%, which was 26.4% more effective than using random ranking, and ~13-19% more effective that using the Gardner score. The probability increased to 97.0% when considering the likelihood of one of the top two ranked embryos being euploid, and the probability of both top two ranked embryos being euploid was 66.4%. Additional analyses showed that the AI model generalized well to different patient demographics and could also be used for evaluation of Day 6 embryos and for images taken using multiple time-lapse systems. Results suggested that the AI model could potentially be used to differentiate mosaic embryos based on the level of mosaicism.

WIDER IMPLICATIONS OF THE FINDINGS

These findings collectively support the use of this genetics AI model for evaluation of embryo ploidy status in a clinical setting. Results can be used to aid in prioritizing and enriching for embryos that are likely to be euploid for multiple clinical purposes, including selection for transfer in the absence of alternative genetic testing methods, selection for cryopreservation for future use, or selection for further confirmatory PGT-A testing, as required.

About Presagen and Life Whisperer

Presagen is an AI healthcare company that is changing the way clinics, patients, and medical data from around the world are connected through AI. Its platform, The Social Network for Healthcare, connects clinics and patients globally, and enables collaboration and data sharing to create scalable AI healthcare products that are affordable and accessible for all. The decentralized network democratizes the creation of AI products, promotes collaboration through incentives, and protects data privacy and ownership. With a focus on improving Women's Health outcomes globally, Presagen's first product, Life Whisperer, is being used by IVF clinics globally to improve pregnancy outcomes for couples struggling with fertility. With a vision of creating the largest network of clinics, patients, and medical data from around the world, Presagen is driving the future of AI Enhanced Healthcare.

About Ovation Fertility

Ovation Fertility is a national network of reproductive endocrinologists and scientific thought leaders focused on reducing the cost of having a family through more efficient and effective fertility care. Ovation's IVF and genetics laboratories, along with affiliated physician practices, work collaboratively to raise the bar for IVF treatment, with state-of-the-art, evidence-based fertility services that give hopeful parents the best chance for a successful pregnancy. Physicians partner with Ovation to offer their patients advanced preconception carrier screening; preimplantation genetic testing; donor egg and surrogacy services; and secure storage for their frozen eggs, embryos and sperm. Ovation also helps IVF labs across America improve their quality and performance with expert off-site lab direction and consultation. Learn more about Ovation's vision of a world without infertility at http://www.OvationFertility.com.

About IVF-Life

IVF-Life is a group of fertility clinics specialized in complex cases. Centres located inSpain and the UK have the latest advances in Reproductive Medicine and outstanding professionals in this field. The constant innovation and a firm commitment to technology keep IVF-Life at the forefront in the assisted reproduction field treating patients from all over the world with ahigh degree of success. IVF-Life perform a comprehensive range of treatments and diagnostic tests with the aim to provide effective solutions to a wide variety of fertility problems.

About Alpha IVF & Women's Specialists

Alpha IVF group comprises IVF centres in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Singapore. Alpha IVF is a world-class fertility treatment provider bringing the most advanced fertility technologies and excellent success rates in achieving the goal of having a baby. Alpha IVF consists of a team of highly qualified and skilled doctors, scientists and nurses that deliver international standards of patient care. As the name Alpha suggests, the team have pioneered numerous innovative fertility treatments. Alpha IVF offers its patients access to a network of fertility experts and facilities fully equipped with a full range of cutting-edge laboratories, innovative technologies such as Artificial Intelligence, Next Generation Sequencing (NGS), 100% post-warm survival rate for embryo cryopreservation, time-lapse embryo monitoring, PIEZO-ICSI, sperm separation technologies and many others. Continuous R&D have led Alpha IVF to achieve numerous world firsts and innovative fertility treatment protocols both regionally and globally.

About Wings

Wings IVF comprises a chain of leading fertility clinics across India, with more than 12,000 live births through IVF. Wings hospitals are state of art specialty hospitals & clinics providing all infertility treatments and IVF. They provide top quality, comprehensive, holistic care to women of India at a reasonable cost. An interdisciplinary team of expert and caring professionals is committed to meeting the physical as well as emotional and spiritual needs for each woman and her family. The Wings Hospitals have been designed and furnished to provide a high level of fertility care with comfort and privacy.

SOURCE Presagen

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New hope for IVF patients as global study published in Human Reproduction shows AI can effectively assess genetic integrity of embryos - Yahoo Finance

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A Week At The Most Secretive Conference On Aging – Forbes

Posted: July 3, 2022 at 2:21 am

Gordon Research Conference (GRC) Systems Aging 2022. Row 1: Vera Gorbunova, Cavin Ward-Caviness, ... [+] Samuel Beck, Sruthi Sivakumar, Vittorio Sebastiano, Steve Horvath, Vadim Gladyshev, Morgan Levine, Daniel Promislow, Brianah McCoy, Richard Miller; Row 2: Morten Scheibye-Knudsen, Diljeet Gill, Andrei Seluanov, Yuancheng Lu, Cynthia Kenyon, Nicholas Schork, Kristen Fortney, Sara Jovanovska, Steve Cummings, Vyacheslav Labunskyy, Kathrin Kajderowicz, Jane Chuprin, Nathan Price, Emma Teeling, Ruogu Fang, Martin Borch Jensen; Row 3: Ake Lu, Alex Chen, Naisha Shah, Sara Hagg, Oliver Hahn, Joris Deelen, Riccardo Marioni, Raghav Sehgal, Nick Schaum, Alex Zhavoronkov, Brian Chen, James Clement, Ryan Smith, Joo Pedro de Magalhes, Alexander Suvorov, Elinor Karlsson, Inigo Martincorena; Row 4: Ellen Quarles, Bradley English, Grace Edmonds, Iosif Gershteyn, Lillian Zhu, Laura Feiner, Brian Kennedy, Laura Goetz, Luay Boulahouache, Anahita Mojiri, Elisa Morales, Daniel Nachun, Hanna Barlit, Andrey Parkhitko, Daniel Richard, Hang Ma, Jeffrey Yunes; Row 5: Aqil Rashid, Patrick Griffin, Maximilian Unfried, Zhengping Hu, Sanjeev Goel, Nikola Markov, Priscila Chiavellini, Margaux Quiniou, Wayne Mitchell, Alex Trapp, Juan Vazquez, Thomas Stoeger, Ivan Morgunov, Dylan Suvlu, Daniel Vera, Peter Niimi, Jennifer Gamble, Michael Antonov; Row 6: Qi Yan, Elizabeth Gaskell, Kaiyang Cheng, Suzanne Martos, Jose Luis Ricon, Csaba Kerepesi, Kristen McGreevy, Arkadi Mazin, Gabrielle Gilmer, Zachary Hettinger, Grant Belgard, Benjamin Salzer, Koby Baranes, Enrique Ramos, Denis Tsygankov, Hamilton Oh, Benjamin Anderson, Michael Basson, Bryan Cox; Row 7: Ada Nguyen, Michael Petr, Nadia Sutton, Grace Phelps, Michael Florea, Gary Churchill, Manuel Serrano, Kenneth Raj, Peter Kharchenko, Mlanie Mangier, Brian Okundaye, Glen Pridham, Spring (Bahareh) Behrouz, Julio Leon Incio, Farzaneh Nasirian, Tomoko Kasahara, Xinna Li, Jesse Poganik, Changqi Zhu; Row 8: Andrei Tarkhov, Yuri Deigin, Nimrod Rappoport, Sun Hee Yim, Anastasia Shindyapina, Benjamin Barr, Mahdi Moqri, Kejun Ying, Bohan Zhang, Mia Petljak, Kay Linker, Marc Kirschner, Leon Peshkin, Robert Palovics, Steven Shuken, Gregory Johnson, Jacob Kimmel, Bruce Ksander, Manish Chamoli, jinlong lu, Larissa Smulders, Mathew Vadas, Andrea Cipriano, Peter Douglas, Weronika Prusisz, Sergiy Libert, James Welsh

Important Disclaimer: the conference does not allow any photography of posters and talks. Hence, all photos in the article were taken during the extracurricular and team building activities.

One of the best ways for young scientists to get inspired and advance their scientific carriers is to interact with the faculty, research management of major funding bodies, editors of major journals, and industry leaders who may later serve as their mentors. Now that coronavirus lockdowns are winding down, hopes are up and people are beginning to ditch virtual meetings for in-person interactions; it has led to a surge in events and conferences around the globe. This has allowed the scientists to finally meet in-person to share ideas and have open discussions. Of course, some of the conferences like the largest aging research and drug discovery conference, the annual ARDD forum, was held in Europe (Copenhagen) in 2020 and 2021 and may be even larger in 2022, but in the US scientists in aging research were starving for high-quality in person meetings. Since our AI-discovered dual-purpose novel target implicated in aging and fibrosis entered Phase I human clinical trials, I started to get invited to many AI, chemistry, biology, and aging research meetings. But at most of these meetings if you present unpublished data, it will be rapidly photographed and disseminated in the industry. So when I was invited to the Gordon Research Conference by two celebrity chairs, Harvard/MGB professor Vadim Gladyshev, and the father of methylation aging clocks (possible Nobel prize), UCLA professor and one of the top scientists at the newly-formed longevity startup, Altos Labs, Steve Horvath, I got very excited.

Conference Chair Professor Vadim Gladyshev

GRC is a platform where you can openly present unpublished research, get feedback and valuable advice, find collaborators, and be certain that no one will take pictures, or disclose confidential information. Also, the meeting was held in a super distant ski resort 1.5 hour drive from the nearest airport, and the academic and industry heavyweights could not leave that easily if you commit, you commit. So without disclosing anything confidential, I will try to provide you with a glimpse into this amazing meeting designed to promote open interaction between the scientists presenting unpublished data, and culminate with a word-for-word copy of the interview with the chairs who did such a great job organizing the event.

Screenshot of the GRC conference program

The Gordon Research Conferences is a non-profit organization that hosts international scientific conferences and seminars to bring a global network of scientists together to discuss the latest pre-publication research in their field. The conference topics cover frontier research in areas like analytical chemistry, aging, artificial intelligence, astrophysics, bioengineering, and neuroscience, among many other areas of science. The conferences have been held since 1931, and have expanded to nearly 200 conferences per year. In 2022, GRC has planned over 395 events a great way for like-minded people to gather, share ideas, and have a fun time. As part of its no publication policy, each member of a GRC conference or seminar agrees that any information presented at an event is a private communication from the individual making the contribution and is presented in a way that it is not for public use. This makes the GRC one of the most thought after conferences in the world and certainly one of the most strict when it comes to disclosing unpublished data externally. Since each conference is limited to 150-200 attendees; scientists must apply to the conference and be selected by the conference chair to attend the meeting. However, for those who are really interested in not missing out, the conference topics covered are regularly published in the journal Science.

Last day of the GRC conference - review of the results

One of the events hosted by the GRC this year was the conference called Systemic Processes, Omics Approaches, and Biomarkers in Aging. It was the inaugural Systems Aging Gordon Research Conference. Held in Newry, Maine, this event is not easy to get to. Many of the scientists on the East Coast of the US needed to spend half a day or more just to get there. There is a reason for this. Often, conferences that are organized in large metropolitan areas with easy access do not have the same level of pressure cooking and interactive networking just because many senior scientists tend to be distracted and often leave prematurely. But when they are put together in a remote location, it is not easy to leave and they have no choice but to interact with each other, share knowledge, and come up with new ideas and collaborations.

The level and impact of scientific conferences is often evaluated by the number and quality of the sponsors. And the GRC conference on Aging sported a number of high-profile sponsors including GRC itself, Carl Storm International Diversity Fellowship Program, National Institute on Aging, IOMICS Intelligent Analytics, Zymo Research, Kinexum, Insilico Medicine, Illumina, Aging journal, Impetus Grants, Infinita Life Science and VitaDAO.

Evening campfire get-together at the GRC

With Vadim Gladyshev serving as chairman and Steve Horvath as vice-chairman, the conference set the stage for the field, paving the way for the development of interventions to delay and reverse aging. Vadim is a professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School and director of Redox Medicine at Brigham and Womens Hospital, while Steve is a professor of human genetics and biostatistics at the University of California - Los Angeles, and a senior scientist at Altos Labs. Both are world-renowned researchers, and spoke and led the discussions at the conference.

The "Copenhagen Longevity Mafia" scientists from Scheibye-Knudsen lab arriving to the Portland ... [+] airport and excited to go to GRC. Newry, the actual location of the event is 1.5 hour bus ride away from the Portland airport to ensure that the scientists stay together.

The conference was attended by a number of prominent researchers from renowned institutions; such as Cynthia Kenyon of Calico Labs, who discussed about interventions that slow aging, Morten Scheibye-Knudsen of the University of Copenhagen, who talked about modulating DNA repair for healthy aging, and Emma Teeling of the University College Dublin, who spoke about the genetic basis of exceptional longevity of bats. Of course, there were many other luminaries and industry leaders. I spoke on the applications of deep aging clocks in clinical practice and described how we used AI and aging clocks to identify a dual-purpose aging and disease protein target that is now in Phase I clinical trials.

The conference included archery lessons. I spiced it up a little by adding individual target names: ... [+] TORC1, PHD2, and SIRT6 as a pun.

The fifth-day event was divided by various discussion topics so each day was highlighted by a new subject matter, sometimes two subject matters.

Day one was about Delaying Age, and was led by Steve Horvath as the discussion leader. On this day, Cynthia Kenyon, Richard Miller of the University of Michigan and Inigo Martincorena of the Sanger Institute presented. Richard and Inigo presented on drugs and mutations that slow aging in mice, and somatic mutations and clonal expansions in aging, respectively.

Day two was all about Epigenetic Reprogramming and Rejuvenation. It was led by Joe Betts-LaCroix of Retro Biosciences. Manuel Serrano of IRB Barcelona started the day with a talk on understanding and manipulating in vivo reprogramming and its effects on aging. He was followed by Vittorio Sebastiano of Stanford University, who spoke about transient reprogramming for multifaceted reversal of aging. Jacob Kimmel of NewLimit Research followed Vittorio with a talk on reprogramming strategies to restore youthful gene expression. Then came Morgan Levine of Yale University, who discussed DNA methylation landscapes in aging and reprogramming. She was followed by Yuancheng Lu of Whitehead Institute and Diljeet Gill of Altos Labs Cambridge Institute, who discussed reprogramming to recover youthful epigenetic information and restore vision, and multi-omics rejuvenation of human cells by maturation phase transient reprogramming, respectively. The second subject matter of the day was Genomics of Aging and was led by Emma Teeling as the discussion leader. Nicholas Schork of TGen discussed integrated approaches to characterizing the polygenic basis of longevity. Edward Boyden of MIT followed with a talk on technologies for mapping and controlling aging-related processes. Next came Martin Borch Jensen of Gordian Biotechnology with a talk on using pooled in vivo perturbation screens to understand how aging mechanisms manifest across tissues and cell types. He was followed by Joris Deelen of Max Planck, who discussed identification and functional characterization of genetic variants linked to human longevity.

The first discussion topic for the next day was Epigenetic Biomarkers, with Kristen Fortney of Bioage leading the discussions. First to the podium was Nick Schaum of Astera Institute, whose discussion topic was rejuvenome: toward a functional and multiomics understanding of aging and rejuvenation. Samuel Beck of MDI came after Nick and shared his thoughts on misexpression of genes lacking CpG islands. He was followed by Riccardo Marioni of University of Edinburgh and Ake Lu of San Diego Institute of Science, who discussed about epigenetic clocks and universal DNA methylating age, respectively. The day continued with Sara Hagg of Karolinska Institutet and Patrick Griffin of Harvard Medical School all speaking about aging research. The second subject of discussion of the day was Clinical and Molecular Biomarkers, and the discussions were led by Meng Wang of Baylor College. Cavin Ward-Caviness of the US EPA started the day with a discussion on air pollution and accelerated aging. He was followed by Morten, who was followed by Brian Kennedy of the NUS Singapore. The day ended with Paola Sebastiani of Tufts, who discussed molecular signatures of aging and extreme old age.

Day 4 Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning

Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning was the first subject matter for the next day, which was moderated by Marc Kirschner of Harvard. Sergiy Libert of Calico started the day with a talk on construction and analysis of the physiology clock for human aging. I took to the podium next and discussed applications of deep aging clocks in clinical practice and drug discovery. I was followed by Kristen Fortney of Bioage and Albert-laszlo Barabasi of Northeastern University, who discussed data-informed drug discovery for aging and the dark matter of nutrition, respectively. Other speakers included Peter Kharchenko of Harvard Medical School, Ruogu Fang of University of Florida, and Nathan Price of Thorne Health Tech. Following a short break, the day continued with Aging as a Systemic Process led by Steve Cummings. Meng Wang of Baylor College, Danica Chen of University of California, Amandine Chaix of University of Utah, Gary Churchill of The Jackson Laboratory, Xin Jin of Scripps Research, and Subhash Kulkarni of Johns Hopkins presented their views on aging and longevity.

Kristen Fortney, PhD, CEO of BioAge in the middle surrounded by the chairs of the 9th ARDD. Dr. ... [+] Fortney's BioAge has three Phase II programs in the pipeline and she will be presenting at ARDD in Copenhagen.

In my humble opinion, Kristen Fortneys BioAge presentation and some of the posters were probably the most important reveals at the conference. She has a Phase II clinical readout coming up in the matter of weeks. If this readout is successful, it will help boost our industry.

The first agenda for the last day was Comparative Genomics of Aging led by Andrei Seluanov of University of Rochester. Speakers included Vera Gorbunova of University of Rochester, Emma Teeling, Joao Pedro de Magalhase of University of Birmingham, Elinor Karlsson of UMass Chan Medical School, Leon Peshkin of the Harvard Systems Biology Department , Mia Petljak of Broad Institute, Vyacheslav Labunskyy of Boston University School of Medicine, Steve Cummings of San Fransisco Coordinating Center and Alex Colville of Stanford. The second agenda of the day was Fundamental Bases of Aging, led by Cynthia Kenyon. Kenneth Raj of Altos Labs presented first, and was followed by Daniel Promislow of University of Washington, Sruthi Sivakumar of University of Pittsburgh, Oliver Hahn of Stanford, and Margaux Quiniou of Brain Research Institute. The last speaker of the entire event was Peter Douglas of University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, who d intracellular lipid surveillance in aging.

Over the course of the five-day event, presentations covered many topics, like delaying aging, aging clocks, longevity intervention, and so much more. Many organizations like MIT, Stanford and Yale were represented. It was truly a great opportunity to network with peers.

With this successful conference on aging, the GRC has now plans the second Systems Aging meeting in 2024.

Dr. Steve Horvath of UCLA and Altos Labs (left) and Dr. Vadim Gladyshev of Harvard MGH (right), the ... [+] two chairs of the Gordon Research Conference on aging

Alex Zhavoronkov: The GRC conference brought together some of the most advanced groups from all over the world. I understand that most of the research presented is unpublished, but just talking about the general trends, can you describe a few truly "hot" areas that are likely to impact the field for the years to come?

Professor Vadim Gladyshev:

Alex Zhavoronkov: If you were to highlight just five breakthrough talks, what would these be?

Professor Vadim Gladyshev: Talks from Ken Raj, Manuel Serrano, Ake Lu, Nathan Price, and Kristen Fortney particularly come to mind, but there were many other excellent talks too. There was also an outstanding set of posters, probably on average the strongest I have ever seen.

Alex Zhavoronkov: How close are we to seeing the first longevity therapeutics in humans and what needs to happen to get the pharma companies to invest heavily into this field?

Professor Vadim Gladyshev: We are probably 5-10 years away from it, as clinical trials are needed to unequivocally demonstrate the longevity effects of some interventions. For companies to heavily invest into the space, we need at least one intervention that significantly extends healthspan and lifespan without serious side effects.

Alex Zhavoronkov: I noticed that compared to several other GRCs I attended a few years back, there was surprisingly high number of industry speakers. Altos, Bioage, our company, VitaDAO, and several others (I will provide the list). Do you see that the industry started producing valuable scientific research output?

Professor Vadim Gladyshev: This is a characteristic feature of the field now. About a quarter of attendees at the Systems Aging GRC were from industry, and some of the best talks were delivered by scientists working at companies. In a way, some companies such as Altos, Calico, Bioage, Insilico Medicine, Retro, blur the distinction between academia and industry, as they support research that is published and presented at meetings. It may be a common goal or the nature of the field, but this is definitely an exciting time to be in this area.

Alex Zhavoronkov: Are there any groups and biotechnology companies that the pharmaceutical companies should evaluate closer for partnerships or learning the best practices?

If pharma is serious about expanding into this space, it should partner with the best academic science. This is the only way for major advances. Aging research appears simple to newcomers, and there is almost no barrier to join this field and begin contributing. However, aging is in fact incredibly complex. Moreover, there is currently no consensus on the most basic features of aging. So, it is easy to slip into doing research that is appealing, but which could lead to nowhere.

Alex Zhavoronkov: Aging clocks seem to be dominating the field right now. What are the most interesting findings in this field that you can highlight from the conference?

Professor Vadim Gladyshev: Aging clocks have started a revolution in the field. At the conference, we learned of various new types of clocks, both molecular and physiological, that could apply to cells, tissues, organisms and even species and that can be trained for various manifestations of aging.

Alex Zhavoronkov: I was very impressed by the social networking component of the conference. It is truly wonderful to see so many giants in the field in person. What was the most popular extracurricular activity that everyone enjoyed the most?

Professor Vadim Gladyshev: It seems that what attendees enjoyed most is the unmatched intellectual power of the group. I could see people discussing science well after midnight, every day. And they did it during various activities too: in the pool and sauna, while hiking and doing archery, at a bar and at a fire pit.

One of the highlights of GRC are the poster sessions. This is where the many young scientists can learn from the others, interact with veteran academics and industry leaders, and receive valuable feedback and collaboration proposals. Again, due to the nature of the conference, I will not talk about the unpublished data, and cover the posters, but one thing is clear - the field of aging research is rapidly advancing with the many new wonderful scientists joining the field, many new companies starting their journeys and many venture capitalists who are getting more and more sophisticated in this highly promising field.

Winners of the poster awards with the conference chairs

In the case that you have made it this far, I would like to encourage you to learn more about this exciting field and register for the next GRC in 2024. In the meantime, there are many resources that can help people from other industries as well as physicians, computer scientists, and venture capitalists get into the field of aging research. One of the best ways to get into the field is to take free introductory courses and attend industry conferences. The next large interdisciplinary conference on aging research will transpire in Europe, and is organized by the University of Copenhagen.

GRC Chairs, Dr. Vadim Gladyshev and Dr. Steve Horvath, with ARDD Chairs, Morten Scheibye-Knudsen, ... [+] MD, PhD, and Alex Zhavoronkov, PhD in the "Come to ARDD in Copenhagen" pose

If you enjoyed reading about the GRC conference, which is very difficult to get in, please consider attending the 9th Aging Research and Drug Discovery conference in Copenhagen, running from 29th of August to 2nd of September either virtually or in-person. Both GRC chairs will be presenting and many of the scientists who presented at the GRC will be at the ARDD. The ARDD will also bring together many venture capitalists, pharmaceutical companies, and startups in longevity biotechnology.

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A Week At The Most Secretive Conference On Aging - Forbes

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Hotels are offering guests $12,000 stem cell therapies, chewing lessons, and IV drips in luxury wellness kick – Business Insider Africa

Posted: July 3, 2022 at 2:20 am

The Wall Street Journal reported that New York's Peninsula hotel, German medispa Lanserhof, and Four Seasons Resort Maui in Hawaii were among hotels diving into bizarre wellness courses to attract wealthy, increasingly health-conscious guests.

The report said a cornerstone of Lanserhof's program was the Mayr Cure, which involves a multiday fast, lessons in proper chewing - with more than 30 chews per mouthful recommended - and abdominal massages. The hotel is expected to introduce MRI machines and CT scanners for preventive diagnostic sessions. If that isn't enough to satisfy guests, there's also an on-site psychologist.

Lanserhof is not alone in offering an array of expensive alternative treatments, according to the WSJ.

The Four Seasons in Wailea, Hawaii, where rooms can cost $20,000 a night, offers guests a selection of intravenous (IV) Drips and Ozone Therapy alongside Los Angelesbased preventive and diagnostic health care center Next Health. The hotel also offers guests 60-minute stem cell therapy sessions, costing $12,000 each.

"According to research, [stem cells] can help orchestrate and improve cell communication, optimizing the efficiency of a variety of bodily processes, which may improve overall vitality," Next Health president and co-founder Kevin Peake told the WSJ.

But the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has released warnings about regenerative medicine therapies including stem cells in the past. It had received reports of blindness, tumor formation, and infections due to the use of unapproved products.

High net worth individuals are spending more on alternative treatments, according to a report by the Global Wellness Institute.

The report found the global wellness economy was worth $4.4 trillion in 2021, with wellness tourism accounting for $436 billion. The study expected wellness tourism to grow by more than 20% per year between 2020 and 2025 after a pandemic-induced slowdown last year.

Alex Glasscock, CEO and co-founder of Ranch, told the WSJ that bookings at the group's Rome-based spa, where guests engage in four-hour hikes and deep tissue treatment, were starting to fill up six months in advance in a sign of resurgent demand.

The hotels and medispas mentioned in the article didn't immediately respond to Insider's request for comment.

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Hotels are offering guests $12,000 stem cell therapies, chewing lessons, and IV drips in luxury wellness kick - Business Insider Africa

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TRT Testosterone Replacement Therapy Clinic – Peter Uncaged MD

Posted: July 3, 2022 at 2:19 am

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TRT Testosterone Replacement Therapy Clinic - Peter Uncaged MD

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