Member Spotlight: Ricardo Baptista

Ricardo Baptista, PhD
SmartCella, Sweden
Procella Therapeutics, Sweden

Hometown
Lisbon, Portugal

Current Residence
Stockholm, Sweden

Graduate Degree
Eng PhD

Postdoc Work
Large scale production of a recombinant lipase and structure/function stabilisation by Threhalose

Current Position
Chief Technology Officer SmartCella and Head of Procella

ISSCR Participation
Best Practices Steering Committee

• What is the current focus of your research?

  The translational development of advanced cell therapies, bridging stem cell biology, GMP manufacturing, and targeted delivery technologies to enable safe, scalable, and clinically effective regenerative medicines.

• How would you explain the significance of this work to a lay audience?

  I work on turning promising stem cell research into real medicines that can actually be used in patients. That means making sure the cells are safe, can be produced reliably at high quality and large quantities, and are delivered exactly where they are needed in the body.

• What do you find most rewarding about your work?

  Working with and learning from the pluridisciplinary team, from stem cell biology to process engineering and GMP manufacturing to clinical trial design and applications

• What led you to become a scientist and to stem cell research?

  Scientist: curiosity for the unknown and creativity with my Legos
  

  Stem cell scientist: when I joined Peter Zandstra Bioengineering Lab in Toronto

• What guidance would you share in talking with trainees interested in pursuing your area of research?

  Follow your instincts and scientific knowledge, be curious, failure is always a learning experience, and think big - today's impossible is tomorrow's reality 

• Do you have any mentors or individuals who have inspired you in your stem cell work?

  Daniel Otzen - Aalborg and Aarhus University
  Peter Zandstra- University of Toronto and CCRM
  Jacqueline Barry - Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult
  Elsy Boglioli-Cellectis

• How do you spend your free time?

  Watching dance and theatre, swimming, reading, riding my Vespa, cooking, be out and about with friends and family = eating and drinking :)

• What is something your peers would be surprised to learn about you?

  I was a professional actor and dancer when I was younger and way, way slimmer

• What do you most value about your membership with the ISSCR?

  It’s especially valuable as a forum where best practices, regulatory expectations, and emerging science are discussed openly, helping the field mature responsibly. It also provides a trusted community where hard questions can be debated constructively—something that is essential for advancing PSC therapies with rigour and integrity.

• What is the significance of the Best Practices resource, and how do you think it will impact the development of PSC therapies?

  Having worked through the practical challenges of translating PSC therapies, I see the Best Practices resource as a way to democratise hard-won experience, helping developers avoid repeating known pitfalls and make smarter decisions earlier. Its real impact will be accelerating safe, scalable, and clinically credible PSC therapies by encouraging development with the end in mind—ultimately benefiting both developers and patients.