Previous Focus Sessions

Focus Sessions provide in-depth coverage of specific topics of interest and are presented by interested academic and industry groups. Held during the Annual Meeting, these educational opportunities in science, society, and education are organized by members and open to all in-person meeting attendees. View previous Focus Session titles and descriptions below for reference.

2025 Annual Meeting Focus Sessions

  • Organized by Allen Institute for Cell Science

    The Allen Institute for Cell Science aims to understand the ways multicellular systems organize, behave, and transition between cell states. We integrate experimental and computational approaches across multiple levels—from molecules to tissues—to develop models that explain and predict cell behavior in human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC) systems. All of the resources and tools generated in pursuit of this mission are shared openly with the scientific community. During this session, Allen Institute team members will present ongoing scientific projects using these tools to investigate changes in state of hiPSC derived endothelial cells exposed to shear stress, changes of state during the formation of 2D vs 3D structures in hiPSCs, and the use of neural networks to extract meaningful features in 3D microscopy data. In addition, Soah Lee from Sungkyunkwan University will present the use of our recent set of hiPSC derived disease cell line collections for cardiomyopathy. Finally, Sadao Ota from the University of Toyko will share the application of a recent Representation Learning framework to quantify interpretable measurements or representations of intracellular structures. The Allen Institute for Cell Science tools and resources shared in this session are openly available at our website allencell.org

  • Organized by BlueRock Therapeutics and Bayer Pharmaceuticals

    Parkinson’s disease affects more than 8.5 million people worldwide and is the second most common neurodegenerative disease, after Alzheimer’s disease. Current pharmacotherapeutic strategies for treating Parkinson’s disease motor symptoms include augmenting dopamine levels in the brain through dopamine agonists, enhancing dopamine bioavailability, or limiting levodopa degradation. However, these treatments are associated with motor complications, including the development of dyskinesias and narrowing of the therapeutic window, and adverse effects such as exacerbation of non-motor symptoms. Further, these therapies do not address the loss of dopaminergic neurons; thus, there remains a critical need for novel therapies for Parkinson’s disease.

    The transplantation of dopaminergic neuronal cells into the putamen is an innovative strategy for restoring dopaminergic function in the brains of people with Parkinson’s disease. In this session, we will discuss the advancements in surgical techniques involved in the delivery of cell therapies in the brain. We will also discuss emerging data from the first-in-human phase 1 trial of bemdaneprocel, an hESC derived allogenic, dopaminergic progenitor cell therapy.

  • Organized by Stem Cell COREdinates
    Supported by Stem Cell Technologies and Thermo Fisher Scientific

    Stem Cell COREdinates (www.COREdinates.org) is an international consortium of human pluripotent stem cell-focused cores that share expertise with protocols, reagents, and technological advancements to establish “best practices". We work in coordination with the European Network for Stem Cell Core Facilities (https://coreustem.eu/). In our Focus Session, we have selected presentations covering a number of different areas of expertise including organoids, gene editing, disease modeling, GMP manufacturing and biobanking.

  • Organized by the Novo Nordisk

    Research into cell therapy treatment options for neurological disorders has progressed greatly in recent years, such that we now have multiple first-in-human trials across a range of conditions. There is an opportunity to use the experiences and knowledge from these trials to further inform the trials of the future. In this focus session we will visit the current state of clinical trials in cell therapy for neurological disorders, identify learnings from past trials, and explore future prospects. An expert faculty will discuss advances and learnings from cell-replacement therapy trials in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, Parkinson’s disease and spinal cord injury, and discuss considerations for future trials. The session will culminate in a faculty panel discussion with an audience Q&A session.

2024 Annual Meeting Focus Sessions

  • Organized by Berlin Institute of Health at Charité

    In this focus session the opportunities and challenges for the development of stem cell-based therapies in the frame work of gene and cell-based therapies will be discussed. The introductory talk by Giulio Cossu will set the stage and present the challenges in the translational process and beyond in developing a sustainable structure to bring the therapies to the patients, especially patient with rare diseases.The audience will hear about two different examples how ATMPs (Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products) can be delivered to patients even if the possibilities for commercialization are difficult.

    The different strategies in Europe, German national strategy for gene and cell therapy, French INSERM biotechnology initiative and UK Catapult for Cell and Gene Therapy, how to tackle the exciting possibilities and obstacles in the process will be discussed in a panel.

  • Organized by BlueRock Therapeutics

    The purpose of this session is to provide an update on the ongoing efforts within both industry and academia aimed at overcoming significant barriers hindering the widespread adoption of PSC-based stem cell therapies in the clinic

    Despite their immense potential for treating a wide range of diseases characterized by irreversible cell loss and high unmet medical needs, the broad clinical application of PSC-based stem cell therapies faces major obstacles. These hurdles include technical limitations, high costs, as well as challenges related to poor cell survival and engraftment.

    During this Focus Session, speakers will discuss their respective strategies for tackling these major limitations. These approaches include expediting manufacturing processes, bridging translational gaps, and identifying optimal methods for delivery and engraftment.

  • Organized by Stem Cell COREdinates and CoreEUStem

    Stem Cell COREdinates (www.COREdinates.org) is an international consortium of human pluripotent stem cell-focused core facilities that share expertise with protocols, reagents, and technological advancements to establish “best practices" in the maintenance, derivation, differentiation and genetic manipulation of human pluripotent stem cells. Each of our member cores plays an important role in the research and educational missions of their respective institutions. The Focus Session will have selected presentations from Stem Cell COREdinate members and our sponsors. These presentations will cover a number of different areas of expertise including stem cell characterization, gene editing and disease modeling.

  • Organized by Evotec

    iPSCs can serve as starting material for generating potentially limitless amounts of cells for therapeutic applications, especially when focusing on allogenic, off-the-shelf approaches in regenerative and anti-tumor medicine.

    This session emphasizes distinct strategies for different categories of therapeutic cells, such as mature cells derived from organoids, progenitor cells, and single-cell populations. Furthermore, approaches for genetic modifications to achieve immune-invisibility of implanted cells are discussed, as a powerful means enabling the applicability of iPSC-derived cell therapy products for broad patient populations. Predictive and efficient functional assays both for cellular maturation and immune-evasion are essential to determine the chances of product success.

  • Organized by ISSCR MCTR Committee

    Human Pluripotent Stem Cell (hPSC)-derived cell therapies are now being investigated in clinical trials. Despite 26 years of rigorous basic science with hPSCs, navigating the regulatory landscape for the clinical translation of PSC-derived cell therapies remains challenging due to the complexities of cellular drug products and limited experiences reviewing and approving them. As the leading stem cell society, the ISSCR is in a unique position to share its scientific expertise with global regulators and work with agencies to facilitate improved future regulatory processes for stem cell-based therapies. In this ISSCR Industry Focus Session, the society shares important insights and feedback gleaned from its liaison meetings with regulatory agencies with our community of scientists to ameliorate their chances of IND approvals and inform the development of effective and safe new therapies.

  • Organized by the Novo Nordisk A/S

    1. Technologies to increase safety & purity of cellular drug product (e.g. removal of undifferentiated and off-target cell types; digitalisation and automation of manufacturing)

    2. Technologies to assess potency and cellular function ex vivo

    3. Technologies & biomarkers to assess cell engraftment, in vivo tracking, and viability

2023 Annual Meeting Focus Sessions

  • Organized by Allele Biotechnology

    The field of iPSC-derived cell therapeutics has now moved near or at clinical stages in various disease areas. Building on our previous focus session presentations on resources and industry’s GMP capacities, this year’s Allele Focus Session will bring in executives from foundations, government agencies, and companies to present their front-line functional results from clinical trials and pre-clinical in vivo studies. In addition, the speakers will share lessons learned from industrial manufacturing, delivery strategy designing, and regulatory communications with the FDA, all of which should prove valuable to the audience who work in the field. More specifically, the focus session attendees will hear first-hand experience from iPSC-based cell therapy developers as to how they chose methodological approaches for such processes as iPSC generation, iPSC differentiation, GMP-compliant manufacturing, pre-clinical and clinical study designing, and clinical-trial management. The current session will also feature inside tales on how to apply recent mRNA advancements into iPSC-based therapeutic development. Following the presentations, a panel discussion featuring a Q&A session will provide an excellent opportunity for the audience to discuss and clarify the best ways for individual iPSC programs you may be interested in and this industry sector as a whole to progress into the next phase.

  • Organized by BlueRock Therapeutics

    Induced pluripotent stem cell-based cell therapies have entered an era of clinical proof-of-concept and safety studies. This advancement illustrates the tremendous potential and opportunities of cell therapies. In recent years, the field made major advances related to defining key attributes of cell therapeutics, and developing at scale processes for cell differentiation and maturation. Commercial practices are constantly evolving to achieve quality control over physical and molecular stability of cells supported by technological advances such as single cell multiomics. In this focus session, we invited distinguished experts from academia, industry, and investor community to share their unique insights into key aspects that propel cell therapies to the clinic.Our speakers will share their experience from matching a cell type to a disease, to defining attributes and efficacy of cell-based products, to manufacturing with consistent, measurable qualities at clinical scale. We would like to shed light on lessons learned from non-stem cell based cell therapies in order to facilitate development in the stem cell field and provide future prospective for what is to come. Our goal is to inspire research and development that may strengthen and refine the next generation of cell therapies and to realize their transformative potential.

  • Organized by Evotec

    Development of effective therapeutics for neurological disorders has historically been challenging due to limited understanding of complex disease pathology and lack of accurate model systems in which to investigate disease etiology. Despite major activities over the past decades, one of the major challenges in CNS drug development remains translation. Recent technological advances in the field of multi-omics profiling, patient centric molecular diagnostics, in vitro patient stratification and iPSC disease modelling have now made it possible to identify the variation and mechanisms underlying a patient's disease and hold great promise for the development of more efficacious and safer drugs. With this focus session we would like to give both academic and industry partners the opportunity to share their perspective on this rapidly evolving field of precision medicine that could provide a better understanding of complex diseases on a molecular level and shift the one-fits-all drug discovery paradigm towards precision drugs.

  • Organized by ISSCR Industry Subcommittee

    New discoveries in stem cell research have rapidly expanded its boundaries of influence, leading to increased interfaces with other fields of science and technology. Unanticipated intersections of scientific disciplines and expertise are now yielding new and exciting applications, ranging from optimizing cell therapy manufacturing and launching stem cells into space, to solving global issues of food production and species conservation. This session will explore how unexpected collaborations across cell and developmental biology, robotic engineering, agricultural farming, bioinformatics, conservation biology, and astronautics have driven the emergence of exciting new avenues for stem cell research and the development of potentially disruptive new technologies and products.

  • Organized by Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF)

    In this Focus Session, leaders from the stem cell and regenerative community in Maryland will present their cutting-edge research and latest breakthroughs in the field. The session will highlight how to successfully transition innovative ideas from the benchside to viable cell therapy products at the bedside through MSCRF's accelerating Cures initiative and its seven funding programs. Cell therapy products, including stem cells and CAR-T cells, intended to treat a variety of disease indications will be discussed. Hear from experts on developing, manufacturing, and delivering cell therapies to patients with unmet medical needs.

    The Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF) is focused on funding and fostering cutting-edge research and innovation in the field of regenerative medicine in Maryland. Our Accelerating Cures initiative comprises funding programs that help commercialize human stem cell-based technologies as well as mechanisms to build and grow stem cell companies in Maryland. MSCRF has invested over $170 million in accelerating stem cell-based research, commercialization, treatment and cures, in addition to building a collaborative stem cell community in our region. Learn more about our mission and our funding opportunities for faculty, postdoctoral fellows, and cell therapy companies at www.MSCRF.org.

  • Organized by NovoNordisk

    Stem cell-derived cell therapies are moving into the next era of development with several potential product candidates in clinical trials. The field is facing several challenges and opportunities, such as defining the final cell product, mastering product formulation and medical device development. Efforts are also underway to gain a deeper understanding of the processes governing efficient integration of the cell product in the recipient. This session aims at shedding light on some of the challenges and opportunities, how they have been addressed by experts in the field, and how these approaches might pave the way for the next generation of cell therapies. Our examples include the development of investigational stem cell-derived therapies for individuals living with chronic heart failure and Parkinson's disease as well as the importance of including the patient’s perspective when developing cell therapies.

  • Organized by STEMCELL COREdinates

    Supported by STEMCELL Technologies and Thermo Fisher Scientific

    Stem Cell COREdinates (www.COREdinates.org) is an international consortium of human pluripotent stem cell-focused core facilities that share expertise with protocols, reagents, and technological advancements to establish “best practices" in the maintenance, derivation, differentiation and genetic manipulation of human pluripotent stem cells. Each of our member cores plays an important role in the research and educational missions of their respective institutions. The first part of our Focus Session will have selected presentations from Stem Cell COREdinate members and our sponsors. These presentations will cover a number of different areas of expertise including stem cell culture, gene editing and disease modeling. The second part of the session will feature invited speakers with a focus on advances in advancement in making more mature stem-cell derived lineages and tissue/organ engineering.

2022 Annual Meeting Focus Sessions

  • Organized by Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund (MSCRF)

    In this Focus session, join leaders in the field from Maryland, USA to explore the latest breakthroughs and advances in stem cell disease modeling and tissue engineering approaches. Also learn the key considerations to commercialize your discoveries, including insights on manufacturing and progressing to clinical trials. The topics will cover cutting-edge discoveries in cardiovascular, neurological and retinal disease as well as cell therapies for skin, bone and soft-tissue restoration. We will also hear how these ideas were validated and commercialized. The cell-based technologies discussed include ES, iPS, MSCs and fibroblast-based approaches. Hear from experts on creating, manufacturing and delivering cell therapies to patients with unmet medical needs.

  • Organized by Cellino Biotech

    A critical promise of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) is the ability to generate unlimited starting material for autologous, or patient-specific, stem cell-based therapies. Compared to allogeneic cell therapies, autologous cell therapies have the safety advantage of enabling transplants without requiring patients to undergo immunosuppression. However, there is currently more development in the allogeneic iPSC-derived cell therapy space than the autologous iPSC- derived cell therapy space, because of the perceived cost and complexity of manufacturing patient- specific cell therapies. In this focus session, we highlight the work of several leaders pioneering the development of autologous iPSC-derived cell therapies, as well as the importance of transitioning from the current manual processes to a more automated approach. Our goal with this session is to share relevant learnings that benefit the iPSC-derived cell therapy field at large.

  • Organized by the ISSCR Industry Committee

    Career paths and the role and contributions of industry within the stem cell and regenerative medicine field are experiencing an unprecedented wave of change. Once-narrow career trajectories are fundamentally changing to give rise to new and flexible paths towards and within industry, providing opportunities to contribute towards the development of new technologies and products that will have meaningful impacts on scientific progress and emerging new therapies. This Focus Session will explore the shifting landscape of careers in industry through the lens of those that have navigated them and how their career paths have intertwined with opportunities to enable the translation of stem cell research and regenerative medicine.

  • Organized by Novo Nordisk

    Stem cell-derived cell therapies are moving into the next era of development with several novel product candidates in clinical trials. The field is facing several interesting challenges and opportunities, such as defining the final cell product, mastering product formulation, and efficient integration of cell product and medical device development. The field also needs to gain a better understanding of the use of immuno-suppression and the potential of immune evasive cell lines. In this session we would like to shed light on some of these challenges and opportunities, and how these are viewed upon by experts in the field. All with the intent to overcome the hurdles to allow for the next generation of novel cell therapies. Our examples will include the development of stem cell-derived therapies for type 1 diabetes and Parkinson's disease.

  • Organized by Stem Cell COREdinates

    Supported by Thermo Fisher Scientific and STEMCELL Technologies

    Stem Cell COREdinates (www.COREdinates.org) is an international consortium of human pluripotent stem cell-focused core facilities that share expertise with protocols, reagents, and technological advancements to establish “best practices" in the maintenance, derivation, differentiation and genetic manipulation of human pluripotent stem cells. Each of our member cores plays an important role in the research and educational missions of their respective institutions. The first part of our Focus Session will have selected presentations from Stem Cell COREdinate members and our sponsors. These presentations will cover a number of different areas of expertise including stem cell culture, gene editing and disease modeling. The second part of the session will feature invited speakers with a focus on advances in stem cell therapies and hypo-immunogenic PSCs for “off the shelf” applications.

  • Organized by the ISSCR Ethics Committee

    Public engagement is increasingly recognized as being integral to basic and translational research. It is especially critical in research that potentially raises ethical concerns, for example, research involving embryos, germline genome editing, stigmatized conditions, and with marginalized communities. In such research, public engagement can help to identify issues that must be addressed in order for it to be ethically sound. While there have been prominent recent calls for public engagement in the emerging sciences, there is arguably little agreement about how this should be done and the best ways of doing so. This focus explores some of the recent calls for public engagement in the emerging sciences and ways that public engagement can help inform and address the ethical aspects of emerging science.

2021 Annual Meeting Focus Sessions

  • Organized by Stem Cell COREdinates

    Supported by Thermo Fisher Scientific and STEMCELL Technologies

    Stem Cell COREdinates is a consortium of human pluripotent stem cell-focused cores that share expertise with protocols, reagents, and technological advancements to establish “best practices". This year our Focus session will be joined by the Germany-based PluriCore network that promotes the exchange of technologies, methods, and cooperation among iPSC Cores in Europe. The first part of the session will be presentations from COREdinates and PluriCore members and our sponsors that will cover advancements in different areas of expertise including reprogramming, gene editing, disease modeling, and laboratory robotic systems. The second part of the session will explore advancements in iPSC-derived organoid systems including SARS-CoV-2 research.

  • Organized by The European Bank for induced Pluripotent Stem Cells

    The European Bank for iPSCs (EBiSC) is a centralised repository, currently in a second project phase including both non-profit and commercial iPSC researchers (EBiSC2), working to make iPSC tools available and developing protocols which improve and simplify their use. This focus session will share how EBiSC2 partners are adapting and consolidating iPSC expansion, differentiation and cryopreservation approaches to help ease transition into high volume applications whilst also ensuring accessibility for non-expert users. We will discuss how the inclusion of iPSC tool lines in these protocol developments enables rapid generation of functionally mature derived cell types and how the associated iPSC datasets can be broadly shared in an ethically compliant manner. Lastly, common stumbling blocks will be discussed to raise awareness across the community.

  • Organized by Eppendorf AG

    Technologies based on hiPSCs, MSCs and differentiated cells derived from them lay the basis for pioneering approaches in drug discovery and regenerative medicine. The routine use of stem cell-based applications requires high cell numbers in consistent quality. Standardized cell production requires a thorough understanding of how growth parameters impact cell growth and fate, and the ability to control these parameters. The supply of high cell numbers needs scalable culture systems. In this focus session Eppendorf will host experts from industry and academia to discuss methods for improving reproducibility and for scaling-up of stem cell cultivation. Our speakers will present examples for the benefits of process control using bioreactors. Experts will share their experience when translating cultivation from flasks and dishes to a three-dimensional bioreactor system. Furthermore, the session will offer insight into scale-up strategies using stirred-tank bioreactors.

  • Organized by Novo Nordisk Stem Cell R&D

    In Stem Cell R&D our mission is to improve the lives of patients suffering from serious chronic diseases by developing innovative stem cell-based therapies. We want to be an industry leader in stem cell research and development – a rapidly developing area of far-reaching opportunity with the potential to address, or even cure, a number of serious chronic diseases. As a dedicated Transformational Research Unit, we combine the speed and agility of a small biotech with the quality of a major pharma company and we cover the full pharmaceutical value chain, often working in close collaboration with leading international scientists and with colleagues across Novo Nordisk. Novo Nordisk has been active in stem cell research for over 20 years in type 1 diabetes, and we are now expanding our project portfolio to include Parkinson’s disease, dry age-related macular degeneration and chronic heart failure plus a number of early exploratory projects. At the session, we and some of our partners will present key projects we are working on and give an introduction to what it is like to work at Novo Nordisk and with Novo Nordisk in a partnership.

  • Organized by Sigilon Therapeutics, Inc.

    Development of cell therapies, including stem cell-derived therapies, is a rapidly emerging field for treatment of a variety of diseases. Key considerations for cell-based products are shielding them from the immune system, mitigating the foreign body response, and maintaining viability and function. To address these considerations and leverage the potential of cell therapies, the session will focus on innovative approaches to enhance product delivery including encapsulation, genetic engineering, and modifications to improve the cellular niche.

  • Organized by the ISSCR Ethics Committee

    Through in vitro gametogenesis (IVG) it is possible to create precursor cells to sperm and eggs in the lab using human stem cells. While it is yet to be established whether these cells can form fully functional human gametes, animal studies point to a future where this may be possible. As researchers refine IVG and its applications, it is important to consider what ethical boundaries ought to exist and whether researchers and regulators should define any limits. Join us to hear an expert panel discuss latest scientific progress and important ethical and policy considerations. Topics will include challenges around evaluation of gamete functionality, ethical sources of cells and informed consent considerations, implications for nonhuman primate research, reproductive technologies, and future parentage arrangements. We will also discuss recent changes to the ISSCR Guidelines relevant to IVG. This is a timely opportunity to find out more about this fascinating area of stem cell research.

  • Organized by the ISSCR Industry Committee

    As new discoveries are quickly being translated into potentially transformative cell therapies, developing new treatments ultimately involves manufacturing stem cell-derived products. Manufacturing cell therapies, however, involves critical processes that are often unfamiliar to academic scientists driving research forward. This Focus Session will explore the important and necessary considerations for developing cell therapies, including key insights from seasoned cell therapy pioneers and regulators regarding what to know before you go, and how to get there.