Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine at King’s The Centre for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine at King’s College London is located on the Guy’s Hospital Campus in central London. It acts as a nucleus for a vibrant research community spanning the entire university and the NHS Foundation Trusts of King’s Health Partners (KHP) Academic Health Sciences Centre. The goal of the Centre is to bring together researchers with diverse skill sets and a common interest in elucidating the extrinsic and intrinsic signals that regulate stem cell behaviour. To facilitate collaborations within King’s and with external partners, we have opened a ‘Stem Cell Hotel’ where researchers can access specialist equipment and technical support to study stem cell behaviour at single cell resolution. We also host and run Stem Cells @ Lunch seminars. This booklet lists many of the investigators within King’s and KHP whose interests include stem cells and regenerative medicine. As you can see, our research portfolio is rich and diverse, ranging from health economics and research ethics, through studies of asymmetric cell division, to clinical trials of autologous and allogeneic cell therapies. We benefit from interactions with scientists across London, including the Francis Crick Institute and Innovate UK’s Cell and Gene Therapy Catapult at Guy’s Hospital. I hope you will enjoy reading about what we have to offer at King’s, and that you will be inspired to join us, whether by attending seminars or initiating exciting collaborations. With best wishes, Fiona M Watt, Centre Director 15th Nov 2018 Centre for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine | 1 Researchers at King’s benefit from superb core facilities that underpin a diverse range of laboratory-based and clinical research activities. Recapitulating embryonic development in vitro using Mouse whole skin showing hair follicles (red) and human induced pluripotent stem cells. blood vessels (green). 2 | Centre for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine KCL imaging facilities support the full spectrum of analysis, from super-resolution light microscopy of single cells to PET/CT scanners for clinical imaging. We host a Nikon Imaging Centre, which is a core facility for light microscopy developed as a partnership between King’s and Nikon Instruments UK. The Nikon Centre complements the Centre for Ultrastructural Imaging, which provides access to a full range of electron microscopy equipment. Our research environment is enriched by expertise in generating human pluripotent and tissue stem cells. We have equipment for single cell gene expression profiling, high content imaging and protein production. King’s Health Partners (KHP) houses two NIHR Biomedical Research Centres (BRC) and a Dementia Biomedical Research Unit (BRU). Biomedical Research Centres and Units drive progress in translational research in biomedicine into NHS practice. BRC core facilities include flow cytometry, genomics and bioinformatics. The University has state-of-the art GMP facilities for gene and cell therapy, and is one of the few centres in the UK engaged in cell-based clinical trials. Centre for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine | 3 Background image: Human dermal fibroblasts from a 64 year old donor. PhD students Chloe Hurling, Arsham Gharamani Postdoctoral research associate Dr Christina and Victor Negri discussing data. Philippeos stains her sections for imaging. 4 | Centre for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine International Seminar Series Journal Club We host a series of international seminars Our journal club is run by Davide Danovi by leading researchers in the stem cell Alice Vickers and Chris Lambert. Generous community. Our inaugural speaker was support ensures that there is always plenty Kevin Eggan. Subsequent speakers have of pizza at these events. We meet every included: Irving Weissman (Stanford), week to talk about exciting developments Rusty Gage (Salk), Konrad Hochedlinger and recent publications in the field of stem (Harvard), Lee Rubin (Harvard), Marianne cell research and beyond. Bronner (Caltech), Ken-ichiro Kamei (Kyoto), Jason Burdick (UPenn), Gregg Sando (Cell Medica), Amy Wagers Wellcome Trust 4-year PhD Programme (Harvard), Ed Boyden (MIT), Jody This PhD programme is training a new Rosenblatt (University of Utah) and generation of researchers in regenerative Kathleen Green (Northwestern University). medicine. PhD supervisors have expertise in a wide spectrum of research areas related to regenerative medicine. Collectively, Stem Cells @ Lunch they provide knowledge in diseases of This series of informal seminars was set up unmet clinical need, in innate and adaptive by Sam Woodhouse and Christine Weber and immunity, in organ transplantation and is now run by PostDocs at the Centre. There clinical trials of cell and gene therapies. are two seminars each month, each consisting Supervisors also have scientific expertise of two 20 minute talks, with discussion. The in endogenous tissue repair, and knowledge emphasis is on sharing unpublished research, of bioengineering, disease modelling, drug fostering collaborations and sharing reagents screens and cell tracking. This programme and expertise. equips students to further translate the Presentations by King’s scientists are cell sciences into the clinic. As part of the interspersed with outside speakers. We also programme we host events such as Master discuss topics of general interest, such as Classes and movie nights that are open to all. publishing strategies, preparing applications for career development fellowships and communicating science to the public. Open Innovation The speakers from Stem Cells @ Lunch We actively seek to innovate new technologies also take part in our podcast Stem Cells @ and have strong links with industrial Lunch Digested. These podcasts feature partners: Perkin Elmer has embedded a short interviews with our speakers, in which facility manager within the Stem Cell Hotel they discuss their current research interests who is available to provide training and and their hopes for the future of stem cell support to users; Orchard Therapeutics, research. You can download this podcast a gene therapy company, has chosen the on iTunes. Centre for its UK research and development laboratories; Unilever funds several research projects which benefit from the established capabilities at the Centre. Centre for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine | 5 Background image: Students embroider stem cell trajectories at a public outreach event Dr Rocio Sancho and PhD student Ana-Maria Cujba discuss A student from a local school learns cell therapies with a visitor at Cancer Survivors Day how extract DNA from strawberries 6 | Centre for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine Public Engagement coordinating visits from schools across Patient and public involvement (PPI) London and collaborating with science in research refers to the active partnership outreach initiatives including The London between patients, members of the public International Youth Forum, King’s STARS and researchers. Patients and the public and Native Scientist. can play an important role in contributing Our scientists also create accessible to research as advisers and potentially also online content, including a weekly as co-researchers. They can, for example, podcast series explaining current stem provide insights based on direct experience cell research in an understandable way. of a disease, and they can provide valuable They publish regular blog articles spanning education to early career researchers. a wide variety of topics, and manage a very At the CSCRM we have an active public active social media presence to share our engagement program. Our researchers, research updates and publicised events. whether senior investigators, postdocs, PhD students or research assistants enjoy, and are good at, explaining their research to the public. Along with our research staff, we also have a full-time Public Engagement Officer, Jessica Sells. Jessica is dedicated to bringing awareness of our research to the public, and where possible involving them in our research. She coordinates staff and student activities in a wide variety of public engagement events and platforms. Our researchers regularly take part in public events, including the very popular Pint of Science festival, in which members of the public come to listen to current science projects in a casual pub setting. Students have spoken at music festivals such as Green Man explaining their research on brain development using mini “ Really want to do stuff in cell science now robots and fruit fly larvae. Staff have used as it is so cool and you can learn so much” embroidery and origami to explain stem No name, 11, Streatham cell science to patients and visitors of Guy’s and St Thomas’ Hospital at International “ At first thought stem cells were boring Clinical Trials Day and Cancer Survivor but now think they’re awesome” Day Events. These are just some of the Connie, 11, Lambeth events that attract hundreds of visitors. We are passionate about connecting with Enjoyed the stem cell embroidery “because our audience in diverse ways, including I developed my stitching and learned about collaborations with fashion brands to the structure of cells” produce stem cell embroidery workshops, Melvina, 15, Deptford and teaming up with multimedia artists to generate exciting science art content for Enjoyed stem cell embroidery “because exhibitions at the Science Gallery London. it was very inclusive and fun” We host a wide range of interactive Emamanuella, 15, Clapham