While we have this intense anticipation for stem cell products and therapies, we also have vulnerable patient populations increasingly challenged by the need to separate science from fiction. For nearly 20 years, we as ISSCR members have been the international voice of logic and moderation. As we move closer to delivery, we have an ongoing need to support this progress with appropriate ethics and research integrity.

The ISSCR is pleased to announce Keith Alm will today assume the role of CEO. He replaces retiring Nancy Witty, after 16 years of leadership.

The ISSCR is pleased to announce Melissa H. Little, PhD, Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and University of Melbourne, Australia, as president of the ISSCR Board of Directors.

Our organizations represent scientific, medical, and patient communities dedicated to advancing medical knowledge and improving human health. We support the continued use of human fetal tissue (HFT) in research because it is an indispensable biomedical research tool crucial for life-saving biomedical research.

What an extraordinary year this has been for science. We witnessed an amazing international response for vaccine development to combat COVID-19. Never before has a drug passed so quickly from the bench through regulatory hurdles to beside. We saw science take center stage in the media as our community rose to the challenge of the pandemic. And, behind the headlines of COVID-19, we watched our colleagues pass major milestones in stem cell research and regenerative medicine.

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) today released updated guidelines for stem cell research and its translation to medicine. The update reflects emerging advances including, stem cell-based embryo models, human embryo research, chimeras, organoids, and genome editing.

We are weeks away from the ISSCR 2021 Annual Meeting, and there is much to anticipate in the meantime. There are so many new programs and announcements coming up for our members and the stem cell community in the next two months, I thought I would take this month’s column to highlight a just a few that I am excited about.

The ISSCR is saddened to learn of the death of Eli Broad, a philanthropist who greatly influenced the field of stem cell science. Together, Eli and Edythe Broad founded the Broad Foundation and made significant investments in science that underscore the belief that research has the potential to treat devastating diseases and significantly improve human health.

A new miniaturized model of NMJ formation, recently published in Stem Cell Reports, will find broad application in studying motor neuron pathology and the discovery of potential therapeutics in ALS.

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) scientific series, Stem Cells and Global Sustainability, is open to the public this week in honor of Earth Day.

The scientific community appreciates that the Biden Administration is lifting the arbitrary restrictions on promising biomedical research using human fetal tissue. Fetal tissue is a crucial research tool that has contributed to numerous scientific advances and saved millions of lives. It was critical for the development of vaccines for polio, rubella, measles, chickenpox, and rabies. It remains essential for creating models of the human immune system for studying viral infections from HIV, Zika, coronavirus, and other viruses.

For 16 years, Nancy Witty has guided the ISSCR to its present prominence as the leading scientific society for stem cell research. Her leadership has enabled our international community to establish a strong foothold in promoting stem cell science, education, and global public policy initiatives that support the field. Nancy will retire in June from her amazing career as ISSCR’s Chief Executive Officer.