I have long believed that one of the most valuable benefits of your membership is the opportunity to leverage the expertise of the global stem cell and regenerative medicine community to help ensure that legislative and regulatory policies support responsible research and discovery in our field. A substantial amount of scientific research is funded through national or government investment, therefore these policies can have a significant impact on biomedical research and the pursuit of new therapeutics to treat disease.

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) will host a four-part digital meeting series featuring a global line-up of speakers who will discuss their latest organoid research. Applying Organoids: The 3D Frontier, co-sponsored by STEMCELL Technologies, will be moderated by Melissa Little, PhD, Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Australia and Toshiro Sato, PhD of Keio University School of Medicine.

It is hard to believe that only six weeks ago, we were concluding the first ISSCR virtual annual meeting, reflecting on its success and the positive response we saw from our international community. We learned tremendously throughout this journey and are using all of this experience to create an exciting path forward for the coming year.

Scientists, clinicians, business leaders, ethicists, educators, and stem cell professionals from across the globe gathered to discuss the latest in stem cell science discovery and application. But instead of roaming the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center, Boston, USA, as planned, close to 4,000 members of the global stem cell community gathered around their computers, tablets, or mobile screens to share their discoveries, participate in workshops, network with colleagues, and advance their careers. Attendees were able to take in over 300 presentations and easily message speakers – all while skipping a long flight and wearing their favorite slippers.

The ISSCR writes UK agency to urge for increased enforcement activities to prevent the marketing and commercialization of stem cell-related products.

The ISSCR issues a comment letter urging that more efforts must be made to prevent the ClinicalTrials.gov database from being abused by clinics marketing unproven stem cell interventions.

We are looking forward to seeing all of you at the ISSCR annual meeting 23-27 June in Boston, US and to delivering an exceptional annual meeting. Even as the Society is immersed in preparations for ISSCR 2020, we remain acutely aware that our members may be personally and professionally affected by COVID-19, just as so many individuals and communities are across the world.

While stem cell research shows promise for numerous diseases and conditions, there currently are no approved stem cell-based approaches for the prevention and treatment of COVID-19 infection.

This month’s message is from Martin Pera, Editor-in-Chief of Stem Cell Reports, the ISSCR’s online, open-access journal. The journal was started in 2013 and publishes high-quality, impactful scientific, and translational discoveries in stem cell science.

The ISSCR is updating its Guidelines for Stem Cell Research and Clinical Translation to respond to recent scientific advances that include the use of pluripotent stem cell (PSC) to create models of early human embryo development.

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) is just that, an international organization. We work across the globe to promote excellence in stem cell science and applications to human health. The society advances international initiatives including: policy and advocacy, professional standards, building working relationships to stay abreast of emerging areas of interest, and of course educational meetings.

Susan L. Solomon, JD, chief executive officer and founder of The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) Research Institute is the recipient of the 2020 International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) Public Service Award.

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) will award the Tobias Lecture Award to Margaret A. (Peggy) Goodell, PhD, Chair of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Director of the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center at Baylor College of Medicine, Houston, Texas, U.S.

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) will award the Dr. Susan Lim Award for Outstanding Young Investigator to Allon M. Klein, PhD, Associate Professor, Systems Biology, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Mass., U.S.

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) present this year’s ISSCR Momentum Award to Mitinori Saitou, MD, Ph.D., Kyoto University, Japan.

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) will award its inaugural Achievement Award to Fred H. Gage, Ph.D., president of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Vi and John Adler Chair for Research on Age-Related Neurodegenerative Disease in Salk’s Laboratory of Genetics, La Jolla, Calif.