Sixty of the world’s leading stem cell research experts are meeting in New York, USA on 24 to 25 January to discuss and debate MND stem cell research.
Stem cells are the newest and ‘hottest’ research tool around. Some types of stem cell are able to turn into any other cell in the body given the right chemical cues. They have a real potential to help drive MND research forward through the creation of new ‘in a dish’ models of MND, as drug screening tools and could even be developed as a treatment for MND.
As there is so much excitement and ‘buzz’ around the use of stem cells, it’s time for researchers to assess the ‘lay of the land’, find some clarity and decide on an achievable direction for the future of MND stem cell research.
So, in conjunction with two leading members of the International Consortium of Stem Cell Networks (the Canadian Stem Cell Network and the UK National Stem Cell Network ), The New York Stem Cell Foundation and the ALS Association of the USA, we have organised an MND stem cell conference.
The aim of our two day workshop is to bring together 60 of the world’s leading stem cell research experts to shape the development of future international MND stem cell research and to forge new research collaborations.
Once the workshop is over, a review will be written and published on the state of affairs of MND stem cell research. The review can then be used by researchers around the world to further our understanding of MND through the appropriate use of stem cells.
Dr Brian Dickie will be reporting back through our blog in the next few weeks on what he found to be the key outcomes of the workshop.
