Seven plenary sessions make up the core of ISSCR 2020 Virtual, and focus on key areas of stem cell research and its application. Plenary sessions showcase speakers who can inspire and invigorate attendees with their cutting-edge research and ideas. Award lectures and other featured lectures are also presented in the plenary sessions. Selected abstract speakers will be included in the plenary program. Organized by the ISSCR Annual Meeting Program Committee. View the Full Schedule for dates and times of Plenary Sessions.

COVID-19 Special Session

Special Address

Anthony Fauci, National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH), USA

Panelists

Jennifer Doudna, University of California, Berkeley and HHMI, USA

Benjamin tenOever, Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA

Jayaraj Rajagopal, MGH/Harvard Medical School, USA

Moderator: Deepak Srivastava, Gladstone Institutes, USA

Plenary I: Presidential Symposium
Sponsored by: Fate Therapeutics

Ernest McCulloch Lecture:  Fiona Watt, King's College London, UK

Steven Finkbeiner, Gladstone Institutes, USA

Eric Olson, University of Texas Southwestern, USA

Aviv Regev, Broad Institute, USA

Plenary II: Machine Learning and Computational Approaches
Sponsored by: T-CiRA Joint Program

ISSCR Dr. Susan Lim Outstanding Young Investigator Award Lecture:Allon Klein, Harvard Medical School, USA

Trey Ideker, University of California, San Diego School of Medicine, USA

Ajamete Kaykas, insitro, USA

Hiroaki Kitano, Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, Japan

Emma Lundberg, KTH Royal Institute of Technology, Sweden

Plenary III: Embryogenesis and Development
Sponsored by: Vertex Cell and Gene Therapies

Benoit Bruneau, Gladstone Institutes, USA

Elaine Fuchs, HHMI, Rockefeller University, USA

Ken Zaret, University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine, USA

Kathy Niakan, The Francis Crick Institute, UK

Plenary IV: Dissecting Organogenesis
Sponsored by: Vertex Cell and Gene Therapies

ISSCR Momentum Award Lecture: Mitinori Saitou, Kyoto University, Japan

Miki Ebisuya, EMBL Barcelona, Spain

Madeline Lancaster, MRC Laboratory of Molecular Biology, UK

Hans Snoeck, Columbia University Medical Center, USA

Plenary V: Stem Cells and Aging

ISSCR Tobias Award Lecture: Margaret Goodell, Baylor College of Medicine, USA

Guanghui Liu, Institute of Zoology, CAS, China

Emi Nishimura, Tokyo Medical and Dental University, Japan

Michael Rudnicki, Ottawa Hospital Research Institute, Canada

Beth Stevens, Boston Children's Hospital, USA

Plenary VI: Reprogramming and Regeneration
Sponsored by: FUJIFILM

ISSCR Achievement Award Lecture: Fred H. Gage, Salk Institute for Biological Studies, USA

Anne McLaren Lecture: Alta Charo, University of Wisconsin USA

Botond Roska, Institute of Molecular and Clinical Ophthalmology Basel (IOB), Switzerland

Li Qian, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, USA

Shinya Yamanaka, Center for iPS Cell Research & Application, Japan

Plenary VII: Clinical Innovation and Gene Editing
Sponsored by BlueRock Therapeutics

Patient Advocate Address: Matthew Might, University of Alabama at Birmingham, USA

John McNeish Lecture: Brian Wainger, Harvard University, USA

Katherine High, Rockefeller University, USA

Michel Sadelain, Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, USA

Keynote Address: Sekar Kathiresan, Verve Therapeutics, USA