Global Workforce Development in Stem Cell Research and Regenerative Medicine

The ISSCR and Canada’s Stem Cell Network (SCN) are partnering on a global initiative to provide perspectives on workforce development in stem cells and regenerative medicine. As part of this initiative, the ISSCR and SCN have assembled an international working group of early career scientists and senior trainees in stem cell research and regenerative medicine who will convene over the next year. Through this joint effort, the ISSCR and SCN aim to build a global dialogue on how the field can better prepare, support, and sustain the next generation of stem cell scientists across diverse career paths and regions.

The Working Group will highlight early career and trainee perspectives on their career paths and prospects across the globe, analyze current challenges and opportunities for trainee career development, and pinpoint key skills gaps and areas for future trainee development. Efforts will culminate in a report summarizing the group’s findings and providing action-oriented recommendations for the field. 

Project Timeline and Opportunities to Engage with the Working Group

  • Spring 2026: The working group will release a public survey to gather a broad range of perspectives on global workforce development issues. Check back on this page for details at a later date.

  • July 2026: ISSCR Annual Meeting 8-11 July: The working group’s efforts will be included in the program for ISSCR annual meeting 2026.

  • November 2026: SCN Till & McCulloch Meetings 9-11 November: The working group's effort will be included in the program for SCN’s TMM 2026 in Vancouver.

  • Fall and Winter 2026: The working group will finalize and publicly release a final report with action-oriented recommendations for the field.

Steering Committee

  • Shuibing Chen, PhD

    Weill Cornell, USA
    (Co-chair)​

  • Daniela Cornacchia, PhD

    AstraZeneca, Sweden
    (Co-chair)​

  • Luigi Aloia, PhD

    AstraZeneca, UK​

  • Erica Bello, PhD

    Milner Institute, University of Cambridge, UK ​

  • Kapil Bharti, PhD

    NEI/NIH, USA​

  • Hans Clevers, MD, PhD

    Roche, Switzerland ​

  • Magdalena Kasendra, PhD

    Cincinnati Children’s, USA​

  • Henning Kempf, PhD

    GEM CELL hub at Novo Nordisk​

  • Christine Mummery, PhD

    LUMC, Netherlands​

  • Steve Murry, PhD

    Jackson Labs, USA​

  • Hideyuki Okano, MD, PhD

    Keio University, Japan​

  • Li Pang, MD

    FDA, USA​

  • Lee Rubin, PhD

    Harvard University, USA​

  • Charis Segeritz-Walko, PhD

    Novo Nordisk, Denmark ​

  • Clive Svendsen, PhD

    Cedars-Sinai, USA​

  • Carlos Tristan, PhD

    NCATS/NIH, USA​

  • Joseph Wu, MD, PhD

    Stanford University, USA​

  • Matthias Zilbauer, MD, PhD

    University of Cambridge, UK

The ISSCR Standards Initiative is made possible through contributions by:

The ISSCR's Standards for Human Stem Cell Use in Research are strictly copyrighted by the society. No part of this document may be produced in any form without written permission of The International Society for Stem Cell Research. Contact isscr@isscr.org for more information.