Full Schedule

Type here to filter the list

Friday, July 12, 2024
CONCURRENT TRACK AND FOCUS SESSIONS - 8:15 AM FRIDAY
8:15 AM – 9:45 AM CEST
GENE THERAPIES
Concurrent Speaker: Benedikt Berninger, PhD (he/him/his) – King's College London
Concurrent Speaker: Dmitri Kullmann, MD, PhD – University College London
Presenting Author: Michela Milani, PhD – IRCCS San Raffaele Hospital
Presenting Author: Alessandra Ricca, PhD – San Raffaele hospital
Presenting Author: Carine Bourdais, PhD – Université de Montpellier, INSERM, CHU Montpellier
Presenting Author: Thomas Berger, PhD – Catalent Cell & Gene Therapy
This session will focus on emerging new areas of gene therapy, in the clinic or advancing towards the clinic
Clinical Applications

8:15 AM – 9:45 AM CEST
STEM CELLS FOR PERSONALIZED MEDICINE
Concurrent Speaker: Eva van Rooij, PhD – Hubrecht Institute
Concurrent Speaker: Jeffrey Beekman, PhD – University Medical Center Utrecht
Presenting Author: Nathalie Saurat, PhD – MSKCC
Presenting Author: Aman George, PhD – National Institutes of Health
Presenting Author: Abel Vertesy – IMBA - Institute of Molecular Biotechnology Austria
Presenting Author: Tianyuan Shi, PhD – The University of Hong Kong
This session will explore how the generation of stem cell models from patients with genetic diseases has increasingly improved to the extent that they can now predict disease phenotypes and even be used for drug discovery to correct the condition.
Disease Modeling and Drug Discovery

8:15 AM – 9:45 AM CEST
INTEGRATIVE SINGLE CELL OMICS
Concurrent Speaker: Barbara Treutlein, PhD (she/her/hers) – ETH Zürich
Concurrent Speaker: Gonçalo Castelo-Branco, PhD (he/him/his) – Karolinska Institutet
Presenting Author: Christopher Esk, PhD – University of Innsbruck
Presenting Author: Enes Ugur, PhD – Max Planck Institute of Biochemistry
Presenting Author: Marieke E. Van Leeuwen – Erasmus MC
Presenting Author: Indranil Singh, M.Sc. – IRB Barcelona - Institute for Research in Biomedicine
Understanding stem cell systems is challenging due to their cellular heterogeneity. Advanced single-cell technologies now allow for multi-layered deep molecular characterization and insights into individual cell behaviors. This session will discuss these recent methodological advancements and their impact on stem cell research.
New Technologies

8:15 AM – 9:45 AM CEST
NON-INTEGRATED STEM CELL MODELS OF EARLY EMBRYO DEVELOPMENT
Concurrent Speaker: Yasuhiro Takashima, MD, PhD – Kyoto University
Concurrent Speaker: Mo R. Ebrahimkhani, MD (he/him/his) – University of Pittsburgh
Presenting Author: Auriana Arabpour – University of California, Los Angeles
Presenting Author: Jin Zhang, PhD – Zhejiang University
Presenting Author: Madeleine Linneberg-Agerholm – Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine (reNEW)
Presenting Author: Yung Su Kim, PhD – University of Michigan, Ann Arbor
Embryo models formed from stem cells open a scientifically and ethically conducive path for embryology. Here, speakers will focus on ‘Non-Integrated Embryo Models’ that mimic only certain tissues of human embryo development, often lack extra-embryonic membranes, and manifest the ability to form connected embryonic tissues and organs.
Pluripotency and Development

8:15 AM – 9:45 AM CEST
MECHANOBIOLOGY OF STEM CELLS AND TISSUES
Concurrent Speaker: Sirio Dupont, PhD (he/him/his) – University of Padova
Concurrent Speaker: Eugenia Piddini, PhD – University of Bristol
Presenting Author: Giulia Savorè, MD – University of Torino
Presenting Author: Pamela L. Wenzel, PhD – University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston
Presenting Author: Qiaoling Zhu, PhD – Tongji University
Presenting Author: Clementine Villeneuve, PhD – Max Planck Institute for Molecular Biomedicine
This session will examine how mechanical forces direct behaviors of stem cells and define physiological properties of their resident tissues. We will explore the molecular basis of force sensing and force generation, explore how forces are transduced into biochemical signals, and discuss how altered forces promote stem cell pathologies.
Somatic Stem Cells, Cancer and Regeneration

8:15 AM – 9:45 AM CEST
PROGRESSING CELL THERAPIES TO CLINIC: UNDERSTANDING THE CELLULAR DRUG PRODUCT
Focus Session Speaker: Charis Segeritz-Walko, PhD – Novo Nordisk A/S
Focus Session Speaker: Brendan Christopher Jones, MD, PhD – Novo Nordisk A/S
Focus Session Speaker: Melissa Little, AC, PhD – Novo Nordisk Foundation Centre for Stem Cell Medicine (reNEW), Denmark, and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Australia
Focus Session Speaker: Catherine Priest, PhD (she/her/hers) – Neurona Therapeutics
Organized by Novo Nordisk A/S There are many challenges in moving an academic discovery towards clinical application. A major hurdle to overcome is how to understand and characterise the composition and behaviour of the cellular drug product. Technologies, methodologies, and the level of detail required for academic publication do not always match those required for large scale manufacturing, or by regulators for clinical trial approval and, ultimately, the granting of marketing authorisation. In this Focus Session, we will address issues such as scale up, prevention of off-target differentiation, in vitro prediction of function, and in vivo proof of engraftment and viability. An expert academic and industry faculty will discuss these issues, the techniques that currently exist to address them, and the innovation challenges facing the field in order to close the technological gaps that exist in these areas.
Focus Session

8:15 AM – 9:45 AM CEST
REALIZING THE POTENTIAL OF PSC-DERIVED THERAPIES: FROM RESEARCH TO CLINICAL TRANSLATION
Focus Session Speaker: Sandra Milasta, PhD – BlueRock Therapeutics
Focus Session Speaker: Wolfram H. Zimmermann, MD, PhD – University Medical Center Göttingen (UMG)
Focus Session Speaker: Mark Kotter, MD, PhD – bit.bio
Focus Session Speaker: Christine Günther, MD – Evotec
Focus Session Speaker: Lorenz Studer, MD – Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center
Organized by BlueRock Therapeutics 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. 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.
Focus Session

PLENARY SESSION - 10:00 AM FRIDAY
10:00 AM – 11:25 AM CEST
PLENARY V: ORGANOID MODELS OF DISEASE
Plenary Speaker: Joo-Hyeon Lee, PhD – University of Cambridge
Plenary Speaker: Sharon Gerecht, PhD – Duke University
Plenary Speaker: Flora M. Vaccarino, MD (she/her/hers) – Yale University
Plenary Speaker: Toshiro Sato, MD, PhD – Keio University
Many organoid models are now sufficiently refined and readouts reporting disease phenotypes sufficiently reproducible that they can be used as robust screens for therapeutics. New drugs and gene therapies are now entering the developmental pipeline with increasing likelihood of success in clinical trials.
Disease Modeling and Drug Discovery

INNOVATION SHOWCASES - 12:00 PM FRIDAY
12:00 PM – 1:00 PM CEST
KEY REQUIREMENTS FOR EFFICIENT AND LINEAR SCALE-UP OF SHEAR SENSITIVE CELL THERAPY PRODUCTS USING THE VERTICAL-WHEEL BIOREACTOR
Showcase Presenter: Sunghoon Jung – PBS Biotech Inc.
Showcase Presenter: Omokhowa Agbojo – PBS Biotech Inc.
Pluripotent stem cells (PSCs) offer promising potential for life-saving therapies, but their clinical adoption faces challenges due to inadequate scalable production processes. Key process hurdles include understanding bioreactor mixing, medium exchange, gas transfer, and cell harvest. Developing reliable methods to scale up manufacturing processes is crucial for robust and reproducible production of clinically relevant lot sizes. Our systematic process development has identified the following key requirements to overcome these challenges: versatile bioreactors with well-characterized hydrodynamics, efficient and scalable MX methods, well characterized gas transfer in large-scale bioreactors, and scalable, low-shear methods for cell harvest, wash, and concentration. The Vertical-Wheel bioreactor-based platform enables scalable production of shear-sensitive PSCs and PSC derived products through planar seed train expansion and scalable 3D expansion/differentiation phases. We successfully scale production from 0.1L to 15L, generating clinically relevant quantities of various cell types (PSCs, PSC derivatives, MSCs, and other primary cells) and growth modalities (microcarriers, aggregates, and single cells). By proactively addressing scale-dependent challenges, we have established reliable large-scale processes for shear-sensitive cell therapy production, facilitating their transition from research to clinical use and enabling widespread access for the population.
Innovation Showcase

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM CEST
THINKING OUTSIDE THE DOME: VERSATILE CULTURE METHODS FROM TISSUE-SPECIFIC STEM CELLS
Showcase Presenter: Nina Quiskamp – STEMCELL Technologies Inc.
Showcase Presenter: Philipp Kramer – STEMCELL Technologies Inc.
Organoids and organotypic cultures are revolutionizing our capability to model tissues in vitro by leveraging the biological capacity of tissue-specific stem cells to generate models that closely mimic the intracellular and intercellular phenomena observed in vivo. These cultures have consequently proven valuable in diverse applications from developmental biology to evaluating antiviral effects and the toxicity of novel drugs. In addition to biological fidelity, technical characteristics such as scalability, access to both apical and basolateral surfaces, automatability, and the ability to incorporate cells from different functional lineages can be critical for being able to use stem cell-based cell cultures in impactful applications. This presentation describes novel protocols and tools, including suspension culture, culture and co-culture at the air-liquid interface, apical-out and other matrix-free methods, and variability-reducing cultureware, and reviews the benefits these adaptations have for automation, culture scale-up, increasing reproducibility and better enabling experimental measurements, including imaging.
Innovation Showcase

12:00 PM – 1:00 PM CEST
LARGE SCALE ENGINEERING EFFORTS IN HUMAN iPSCs TO DECIPHER MOLECULAR AND CELLULAR CHANGES IN DISEASE
Showcase Presenter: William C. Skarnes
Showcase Presenter: Camille Januel
Human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs) and genome engineering technologies have become powerful in vitro tools to model and study various genetic conditions. In this session, Prof. Bill Skarnes, a recognized leader in stem cell genome engineering and Director of Cellular Engineering at the Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine, will present on 1) the efforts undertaken that led to the identification of KOLF2.1J as a suitable reference hiPSC line, 2) provide updates on the generation of hundreds of variants in KOLF2.1J using high-throughput precision editing as part of the NIH-funded iPSC Neurodegenerative Disease Initiative (iNDI), and 3) introduce the MorPhiC project that aims to develop a catalog of molecular and cellular phenotypes for null alleles for every human gene. In the second half of this session, Dr. Camille Januel, from the Chan Zuckerberg Biohub San Francisco, will discuss her efforts using CRISPR technology to tag organelles with the aim of studying organelle dynamics in various hiPSC-derived cell types. This platform will enable the detailed examination of organelles via live cell imaging and proteomics to better understand cellular impacts of disease-associated mutations.
Innovation Showcase

CONCURRENT TRACK AND FOCUS SESSIONS - 1:30 PM FRIDAY
1:30 PM – 3:00 PM CEST
PSC-BASED CELL THERAPIES
Concurrent Speaker: Tamar Harel Adar, PhD – Matricelf
Concurrent Speaker: Felicia Pagliuca, PhD – Vertex Pharmaceuticals
Presenting Author: Edoardo Sozzi – Lund University
Presenting Author: Anne L. Plant, PhD – National Institute of Standards and Technology
Presenting Author: Ian Hay – Factor Bioscience Inc.
Presenting Author: Yoshiki Furukawa – Juntendo University School of Medicine
Emerging embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cell-derived cell therapies for a range of indications will be showcased in this session.
Clinical Applications

1:30 PM – 3:00 PM CEST
THE USE OF STEM CELLS IN DISEASE MODELING I
Concurrent Speaker: Gabsang Lee, PhD (he/him/his) – Johns Hopkins School of Medicine
Concurrent Speaker: Sonia Gandhi, BMBCh PhD (she/her/hers) – The Francis Crick Institute and University College London
Presenting Author: Sara Nolbrant, PhD – University of California, San Francisco
Presenting Author: Heein Song – Leiden University Medical Center
Presenting Author: Alberto Camacho Magallanes – Ottawa Hospital Research Institute
Presenting Author: Meiyan Wang – Salk Institute for Biological Studies
Stem cells can be derived from patients with many diseases and used as platforms for understanding molecular mechanisms underlying disease with a view to developing therapies.
Disease Modeling and Drug Discovery

1:30 PM – 3:00 PM CEST
NOVEL APPROACHES TO PROGRAM AND PERTURB CELL FATE
Concurrent Speaker: Carlos Filipe Pereira – Lund University
Concurrent Speaker: Baris Tursun, PhD (he/him/his) – University of Hamburg
Presenting Author: Matias Ilmari Autio, PhD – Genome Institute of Singapore, A*Star & National University of Singapore
Presenting Author: Stepan Jerabek, PhD – Columbia University
Presenting Author: Camila Vazquez Echegaray, PhD – Lund University
Presenting Author: Gal Keshet (Cleitman Blackstien) – The Hebrew University of Jerusalem
This session on new technologies is being harnessed to precisely engineer the identity of clinically valuable human cells. The cross-disciplinary selection of speakers spans the fields of cell fate engineering and emerging technologies aiming to manipulate cells with high efficiency and fidelity.
New Technologies

1:30 PM – 3:00 PM CEST
TOTIPOTENCY AND GERM CELL DEVELOPMENT
Concurrent Speaker: Miguel Esteban, PhD – Guangzhou Institutes of Biomedicine and Health
Concurrent Speaker: Katsuhiko Hayashi, PhD – Kyushu University
Presenting Author: Miguel Ramalho-Santos, PhD, MSc – Lunenfeld-Tanenbaum Research Institute and University of Toronto
Presenting Author: Moyra Lawrence, PhD – Kyoto University
Presenting Author: Maria Rostovskaya, PhD – Babraham Institute
Presenting Author: Sergiy Velychko, PhD – Harvard Medical School
Capturing stem cells in a particular state that reflects a lineage and stage is a major endeavor at the base of stem cell biology. In this session, speakers will focus on recent advances in the derivation of totipotent stem cells and recapitulation of germ cell development in the dish.
Pluripotency and Development

1:30 PM – 3:00 PM CEST
MAINTENANCE AND REGENERATION OF TISSUE ARCHITECTURE
Concurrent Speaker: Bon-Kyoung Koo, PhD – Institute of Molecular Biotechnology (IMBA), Austria and Center for Genome Engineering, Institute for Basic Science
Concurrent Speaker: Kenneth Poss, PhD – Duke University Medical Center
Presenting Author: Shicong Xie – Stanford University
Presenting Author: Kerstin Bartscherer – Osnabrueck University
Presenting Author: Hugo Vankelecom, PhD – KU Leuven
Presenting Author: Matthew Tierney, PhD – The Rockefeller University
This session will explore the dynamic interplay between stem cells, their progeny, and niche cells in maintaining and repairing tissue architecture. Healthy organs require continual upkeep of tissue composition and form during maturity and robust regeneration after injury. We will delve into new and emerging mechanisms that underpin the physiological maintenance and repair of tissue architecture throughout our lifetimes.
Somatic Stem Cells, Cancer and Regeneration

1:30 PM – 3:00 PM CEST
STRATEGIES FOR GENE AND CELL-BASED THERAPIES IN EUROPE
Focus Session Speaker: Giulio Cossu, PhD – Ospedale San Raffaele, Milan
Focus Session Speaker: Stefano Benvenuti – Fondazione Telethon
Focus Session Speaker: Claire Booth, PhD – UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health
Focus Session Speaker: Daniel Besser, PhD – Berlin Institute of Health/German Stem Cell Network
Focus Session Speaker: Christopher Baum, MD – Berlin Institute of Health at Charité
Focus Session Speaker: Cécile Martinat, PhD – INSERM
Focus Session Speaker: Jacqueline Barry, PhD – Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult
Organized by Berlin Institute of Health (BIH) at Charité Berlin In this focus session, we will explore the opportunities and challenges associated with the development of stem cell-based therapies within the broader context of gene and cell-based therapies. The session will kick off with an introductory talk by Giulio Cossu, who will highlight the obstacles encountered in the translational process and the complexities of establishing a sustainable framework for delivering these therapies to patients, particularly those with rare diseases. Participants will be introduced to two distinct cases demonstrating how Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) can reach patients, despite commercialization hurdles. Moreover, the session will delve into various strategies adopted across Europe to support the advancement of gene and cell therapy. We will examine the German national strategy for gene and cell therapy, the initiative by French INSERM PEPR Biotherapies and Bioproduction for innovative therapies, and the efforts of the UK Catapult for Cell and Gene Therapy. A panel discussion will provide insights into how these approaches address the promising opportunities and challenges in the field. This focus session aims to provide a comprehensive overview of the current landscape and future directions in stem cell-based therapy development, emphasizing collaborative and innovative strategies to navigate the existing hurdles.
Focus Session

1:30 PM – 3:00 PM CEST
USE OF STANDARDS FOR STEM CELLS IN NON-CLINICAL RESEARCH
Panelist: Christine L. Mummery, PhD – Leiden University Medical Center
Panelist: Martin F. Pera, PhD – The Jackson Laboratories
Co-organized by Joint Research Centre (JRC), European Commission

Stem cell-based models are of special interest for pre-clinical studies and chemical safety assessment in the regulatory arena. However, experiments involving stem cells are associated with challenges such as variability and reproducibility. Standards can be a valuable tool to find the right balance between the intrinsic biological variability of stem cells and the acceptable level of reproducibility of test results. Several documents discussing standards and best practices for working with stem cells have already been published. The aim of this session, organised by the Joint Research Centre of the European Commission, is to discuss about the current level of adoption of standards and best practices in non-clinical research and on how to facilitate their implementation. The view of experts from stem cell research, industry, and regulatory agencies will be gathered in a panel discussion.
Ethics, Policy and Standards

POSTER SESSIONS & EXHIBIT HALL EVENTS - 3:45 PM FRIDAY
3:45 PM – 5:45 PM CEST
POSTER SESSIONS and EXHIBIT HALL EVENTS
Join us for these events in the Poster and Exhibit Hall:

3:45 PM – 4:45 PM POSTER SESSION III: ODD

4:45 PM – 5:45 PM POSTER SESSION III: EVEN

4:00 PM - 4:35 PM EXHIBIT HALL THEATER TALKS
Bite-sized, 15-minute sessions on specialized topics. Pop in and out of the Exhibit Hall Theater to catch these brief presentations from industry leaders.

4:40 PM - 5:35 PM CAREER EXPLORATION PRESENTATIONS View these career focused, 5 or 10-minute presentations in the Exhibit Hall Theater. Talks will be given by BlueRock Therapeutics / Bayer AG and STEMCELL Technologies, Inc.

MEET-UP HUBS: Connect with your colleagues and engage in conversation and networking at these common interest discussion forums.

MEET-HUBS - FRIDAY 3:45 PM - 5:45 PM
3:45 PM – 5:45 PM CEST
MEET-UP HUB 1: EUROPEAN RESEARCH COUNCIL (ERC) INFORMATION MEET-UP
Organized by the European Research Council

A scientific officer from the ERC Executive Agency will answer your questions about the ERC funding opportunities and update you about the recent changes.

3:45 PM – 5:45 PM CEST
MEET-UP HUB 2: STEM CELL PODCAST
Organized by The Stem Cell Podcast

Come and meet the hosts of The Stem Cell Podcast, Drs. Daylon James and Arun Sharma, and learn how your research could be featured on a future episode.

3:45 PM – 5:45 PM CEST
MEET-UP HUB 3: CRYOPRESERVATION OF CELL AND GENE THERAPIES
Organized by Steve Oh, Independent Cell Therapy Advisor, Singapore

The cell and gene therapy community has spent over 20 years investigating the front end of the manufacturing processes; however, the final cell or secretion products will likely be fresh or frozen in content. This Meet-up will discuss the challenges in delivering frozen cell products. There are seven important topics open for discussion: Primary Containers, Cryopreservation, Storage and Shipping, Stability, Thawing, and Post thaw Analytics.

3:45 PM – 5:45 PM CEST
MEET-UP HUB 1: SELECTION AND TESTING OF CLINICAL-USE-QUALITY iPSCs
Organized by Pierre Schembri-Wismayer, DeNovo Cell Ltd/University of Malta

In this meet-up, we welcome individuals who group isolating iPSCs, particularly those derived from blood - to learn about optimise methods and quality testing for Clinical level iPSCs.

3:45 PM – 5:45 PM CEST
MEET-UP HUB 2: SUCCESS SYNERGY: NAVIGATING ACADEMIA & INDUSTRY
Organized by Olivia Majhi, Cytogenetics Lab, Department of Zoology, Banaras Hindu University, India

This Meet-up will facilitate networking among students and postdocs while discussing the essential skill sets required for success in academia and industry. This discussion can help the participants understand the soft skills, communication strategies, leadership qualities, collaboration dynamics, time management tactics, and networking strategies crucial for thriving in both academic and industrial environments. From honing soft skills to mastering effective strategies, attendees will gain valuable insights to thrive in diverse professional environments.

3:45 PM – 5:45 PM CEST
MEET-UP HUB 3: HARNESSING STEM CELLS FOR NEXT-GENERATION IMMUNOTHERAPY
Organized by Ran Jing, Harvard University Medical School, USA

This hub provides a networking opportunity for scientists working on using pluripotent stem cells to study immunology and develop PSC-derived immune cells (T, NK, macrophages, etc.) for cellular immunotherapies.

EXHIBIT HALL THEATER - FRIDAY
4:00 PM – 4:15 PM CEST
BEYOND ACADEMIA - SHOWCASING SCIENCE CAREERS WITH SCISMIC
Theater Speaker: Suze Kundu – Digital Science
We’ve all seen the graph of people that start a science degree and how many stay within academia. While the data may seem disheartening, what the graph doesn’t show us are the myriad of career stories about the people that left academia and used their scientific superpowers to continue to make an impact on science and society beyond academia. In this talk, we’ll share some science career stories, and showcase how Scismic’s machine-learning powered platform can help uncover the range of alternative research careers that are out there, waiting for you to unleash your creativity and know how on overcoming a range of challenges that we face as a society.
Exhibit Hall Theater

4:20 PM – 4:35 PM CEST
NUVISAN - THE SCIENCE CRO
Theater Speaker: Norman Liaw – Nuvisan ICB GmbH
NUVISAN Innovation Campus Berlin (ICB) GmbH is an Australian-owned, European-based CRO and your go-to partner for all your therapeutic development needs. Our expertise and capabilities span the entire pharmaceutical discovery pipeline from target identification and validation through to phase 3 clinical trials. Experts from our four main functions serve your project to streamline drug development. With flexible entry points, we thrive by working collaboratively with you to achieve both scientific rigour and yield the best possible outcome. In our presentation, we will give you a brief introduction to the company, an overview of our extensive capabilities (including our unique access to compound libraries not available elsewhere) and examples of how we can work with you to leverage human iPSCs in your drug discovery journey. We also look forward to meeting and sharing more details with you at our booth.
Exhibit Hall Theater

5:00 PM – 5:15 PM CEST
CAREER EXPLORATION WITH BLUEROCK THERAPUTICS
Theater Speaker: Stefan Frank – BlueRock Therapeutics
Exhibit Hall Theater

5:17 PM – 5:27 PM CEST
CAREER EXPLORATION WITH STEMCELL TECHNOLOGIES
Exhibit Hall Theater

INNOVATION SHOWCASES - 6:00 PM FRIDAY
6:00 PM – 6:30 PM CEST
CYTOTRONICS PIXEL: ELECTRICAL IMAGING BASED LIVE CELL CHARACTERIZATION FROM STEM CELLS TO PHENOTYPIC DISEASE MODELS
Showcase Presenter: Shalaka Chitale – CytoTronics, Inc
CytoTronics' Pixel introduces a revolutionary method for monitoring cell activity, utilizing label-free, non-invasive live cell electrical imaging, thereby surpassing traditional optical imaging techniques. The platform uses a high-density electrode array with single cell resolution (12.5 µm) to capture over 20 functional and morphological parameters, including tissue barrier integrity, cell-surface attachment, cell flatness, and motility through unique field-based impedance measurements. To complement, electrophysiological recordings, combined with the ability to electrically stimulate cells, enables functional assessments of electrogenic cells, such as cardiomyocytes and neurons. Measurements can be taken at intervals ranging from minutes to hours, creating "electrical heat maps" and time-lapsed videos revealing the end-to-end journey of an experiment. Cell features can be assessed at the well level generating a population average, or spatial data can be used to evaluate single-cell behavior and assess heterogeneity in cells and their responses. Further insights into kinetics are derived from time-domain analyses. Assay development, initially conducted in a single plate, can seamlessly scale up to a multi-plate format without compromising time resolution or readout quality. The Pixel represents a groundbreaking tool for characterizing in vitro disease models and streamlining phenotypic screening for therapeutic interventions.
Innovation Showcase

6:00 PM – 7:00 PM CEST
STEM CELL RESEARCH IN SPACE
Showcase Presenter: Daylon James – Weill Cornell Medical College
Showcase Presenter: Arun Sharma – Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Regenerative Medicine Institute
Join the Stem Cell Podcast for a live show, where hosts Drs. Daylon James and Arun Sharma will discuss research taking place at the International Space Station (ISS). Experts from the ISS will discuss the opportunities and challenges of working with stem cells in a microgravity environment, and what this could mean for the future of stem cell-based therapies.
Innovation Showcase