Upcoming Conferences
Accelerating Treatment for Age-Related Diseases through Collaboration of Damage/Repair Model Expertise
San Francisco, California
Aug. 19-21
Interdisciplinary discussions to promote cross-collaborations between experts in epigenetic topics and stem cells.
Sitges, Spain
Sept. 20-22
Register here 
Upcoming HSCI Events
Harvard University
Friday, Sept. 11
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM

Harvard Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology and HSCI invite our colleagues in the Harvard research community to join us in honoring Jack Strominger as we celebrate his 90th birthday. 
American Academy of Arts and Sciences
Cambridge, MA
Friday, Sept. 18
12:00 - 5:00 PM

Harvard University
Friday, Oct. 9
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM 

The Skin Disease Program will formally kick-off with a day-longsymposium designed to highlight skin stem cell research as it relates to regenerative medicine, skin cancer biology, cutaneous aging, and disease prevention. 
Harvard Medical School
Thursday, Nov. 12
8:00 AM - 5:00 PM
People News
 Demetrios Vavvas, MD, PhD, from Massachusetts Eye and Ear and Massachusetts General Hospital, joins HSCI as Affiliated Faculty.  
  
If you would like to share your achievements, awards, or research with the HSCI community, please email hannah_robbins@harvard.edu
Modeling Muscular Dystrophy 
Olivier Pourquié, PhD, finds a new technique for generating skeletal muscle cells in a dish. 
A team of researchers, led by HSCI Principal Faculty member Olivier Pourquié, generated millimeter-long muscle fibers, capable of contracting and multiplying in large numbers, in a dish. By analyzing and mimicking developmental cues, the researchers were able to coax cells into differentiating towards skeletal muscle cell fate. Such advances may help researchers model Duchenne muscular dystrophy, sarcopenia, cachexia, and other muscular dystrophies. Read the  full story here.  
Research and Reviews
  • Lee, MacRae, and Burns labs: Inhibition of nerve function reduces muscle regeneration in the injured hearts of zebrafish and neonatal mice. (Developmental Cell paper).  
  • Meissner Lab2i conditions rapidly alter the global binding landscape of pluripotent factors OCT4, SOX2, and NANOG in mouse embryonic stem cells (Cell Stem Cell paper)
  • Notarangelo Lab: Cellular energy depletion and oxidative stress influence hematopoietic cell fate in iPSCs derived from patients with reticular dysgenesis. (Journal of Experimental Medicine paper) 
  • Scadden Lab: An overview of the mechanisms affecting the apoptotic process in tumor-initiating cancer cells and efforts to design therapies. (EMBO reports review)
  • Tenen Lab: A review of the potential impact of using iPS cell-derived models in multiple sclerosis research (Cell Death and Disease review)
Stem Cell Scientist Spotlight
Matrix learned more about postdoc David Shechner. 
David temporarily eschewed the hustle and bustled of the Rinn Lab at Harvard to talk to the Matrix about his unpronounceable research, his masterful language skills, and his favorite Turkish tongue-twisters (sort of). Read about David and his work here.