Top stem cell scientist joins Stemedica
Posted: April 17, 2014 at 8:41 am
Stem cell scientist Mahendra Rao, former director of the now-defunct Center For Regenerative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health. Photo taken in December, 2013 during a speech by Rao at the World Stem Cell Summit in San Diego.
One of the nation's top stem cell scientists has become an adviser to San Diego's Stemedica, a developer of stem cell-based therapies.
Dr. Mahendra Rao joined Stemedica's scientific and medical advisory board, and will help guide the company's strategy, said Maynard Howe, chief executive of the privately held company. Rao's career as a scientist who has also worked for companies and federal agencies makes him particularly useful, Howe said.
Rao is a medical doctor with a PhD in developmental neurobiology from CalTech. He headed the neurosciences division of the National Institute on Aging. He also led the stem cell division of Carlsbad-based Life Technologies, now a unit of Thermo Fisher Scientific. The two companies are on good terms: Life Technologies sells two kinds of stem cells made by Stemedica, used for research purposes, Howe said.
Rao was most recently founding director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at the National Institutes of Health, which has been shut down. Rao, who resigned at the end of March, said he was disappointed at the slow pace of funding studies with artificial embryonic stem cells, called induced pluripotent stem cells. Stemedica announced his appointment April 8.
Rao said Wednesday that his goal now is to advance stem cell therapies through the private sector. Stemedica drew his attention because it had developed a method of reliably generating "clinically compliant" stem cells suitable for use in therapy.
In addition, Rao said he likes that Stemedica is developing combination stem cell therapies, using a variety called mesenchymal stem cells. This variety of stem cell generates chemicals that promote short-term regrowth and seems to enhance the survival of other transplanted stem cells. For example, mesenchymal stem cells could help transplanted neural stem cells integrate into the brain.
"That's a high-risk process and it's a much more difficult road, but they seem to be willing to do that," Rao said.
He has also rejoined the board of Q Therapeutics, a Salt Lake City company developing treatments for spinal cord injuries and other neurological disorders. Rao is the company's scientific founder, but had to leave the company when he joined the NIH.
Stemedica and its affiliated companies are undertaking multiple clinical trials of stem cell therapies. One of the most advanced is for stroke, Howe said. See utsandiego.com/stemedicastroke1 for detailed information.
See more here:
Top stem cell scientist joins Stemedica
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and ... - October 30th, 2015
- Molecular & Cellular Medicine - October 29th, 2015
- Sickle cell anemia Treatments and drugs - Mayo Clinic - October 29th, 2015
- How are stem cells used in medicine today? - HowStuffWorks - October 29th, 2015
- Oxidative Medicine and Cellular Longevity An Open Access ... - October 29th, 2015
- Department of Regenerative Medicine and Cell Biology - October 29th, 2015
- Sickle Cell Anemia: MedlinePlus - National Library of Medicine - October 29th, 2015
- Personalized RegenerativeMedicine : Dr David Steenblock - October 29th, 2015
- Cell Therapy and Regenerative Medicine - October 29th, 2015
- The Power of Stem Cells | California's Stem Cell Agency - October 29th, 2015
- Herbal medicine | Cancer Research UK - October 29th, 2015
- UR Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Institute (SCRMI) - October 29th, 2015
- Penn Medicine News: Genetically Modified "Serial Killer" T ... - October 29th, 2015
- Beta cell regeneration - Center for Regenerative Medicine ... - October 29th, 2015
- The Stem Cell Theory of Cancer - Stanford Medicine Center - October 29th, 2015
- What is a cell? - Genetics Home Reference - October 16th, 2015
- Cell Therapy & Regenerative Medicine - University of Utah ... - October 13th, 2015
- Sickle Cell Anemia: Learn About SCD Symptoms and Treatment - September 26th, 2015
- Research - Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine ... - September 26th, 2015
- Sickle Cell Disease (Sickle Cell Anemia ... - MedicineNet - September 26th, 2015
- T Cell Therapy (CTL019) | The Children's Hospital of ... - September 15th, 2015
- Knoepfler Lab Stem Cell Blog | Building innovative ... - September 10th, 2015
- Cell culture - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - September 6th, 2015
- What are the potential uses of human stem cells and the ... - August 17th, 2015
- One type of airway cell can regenerate another lung cell type - April 13th, 2015
- Limber Lungs: One Type of Airway Cell Can Regenerate Another Lung Cell Type - April 13th, 2015
- Regenestem Network Announces Plans to Attend the 23rd Annual World Congress on Anti-Aging Medicine May 7-9, 2015 - April 6th, 2015
- 'Open' stem cell chromosomes reveal new possibilities for diabetes - April 3rd, 2015
- Key mechanism identified in tumor-cell proliferation in pediatric bone cancers - April 3rd, 2015
- UCI team gets $5 million to create stem cell treatment for Huntington's disease - March 28th, 2015
- Sungduan: Growth factors - March 28th, 2015
- Cleveland Clinic Researchers First to Demonstrate Significant Blocking of Opioid Tolerance With Mesenchymal Stem Cell ... - March 25th, 2015
- Johns Hopkins Medicine, based in Baltimore, Maryland - March 23rd, 2015
- stem cell medicine Jakarta tangerang serpong bsd bintaro - Video - March 21st, 2015
- Global Stem Cells Group to Hold Practical Adipose-Derived Stem Cell Harvesting, Isolation and Re-integration Training ... - March 20th, 2015
- Boston Stem Cell Biotech Start-up Asymmetrex Will Present Essential Technologies for Stem Cell Medical Engineering at ... - March 18th, 2015
- A Single-Cell Breakthrough: newly developed technology dissects properties of single stem cells - March 18th, 2015
- BrainStorm Cell Therapeutics to Present at 3rd Annual Regen Med Investor Day on March 25 in New York - March 18th, 2015
- Global Stem Cells Group to Participate in the 25th Argentine Congress of Aesthetic Medicine in Buenos Aires April 9-10 ... - March 17th, 2015
- Boosting A Natural Protection Against Alzheimer's Disease - March 13th, 2015
- Media portray unrealistic timelines for stem cell therapies - March 12th, 2015
- Stem cells lurking in tumors can resist treatment - March 12th, 2015
- Building custom blood cells to battle sickle cell disease - March 11th, 2015
- Johns Hopkins researchers engineer custom blood cells - March 10th, 2015
- Targazyme Inc. Receives Orphan Drug Designation to TZ101 for Use With Regulatory T Cells to Prevent & Reduce the ... - March 10th, 2015
- Mast cell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - March 9th, 2015
- Achieving gender equality in science, engineering and medicine - March 9th, 2015
- Seven strategies to advance women in science - March 9th, 2015
- British biotech firm sets crowdfunding record with heart drug - March 9th, 2015
- A good night's sleep keeps your stem cells young - March 9th, 2015
- Howe's recovery shows stem-cell advances - March 1st, 2015
- Translational Regenerative Medicine: Market Prospects 2015-2025 - February 28th, 2015
- Stem cellrecruiting hydrogels based on self-assembling peptides for tissue regeneration - February 25th, 2015
- Sertoli cell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia - February 17th, 2015
- Global Stem Cells Group Announces Alliance with Regenerative Technology - February 11th, 2015
- Biotech firm Cell Therapy claims crowdfunding record with heart drug - February 10th, 2015
- Two UC San Diego Scientists Receive Stem Cell Technology Grants - February 3rd, 2015
- Regenestem Network and Gilberto Hernandez Falcon, M.D. Open Stem Cell Clinic in Yucatan - January 31st, 2015
- Global Stem Cells Group and Regenestem Network Announce Launch of New Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Clinic in ... - January 29th, 2015
- Asymmetrex Scheduled to Present Unique Perspectives in Stem Cell Biology and Recent Advances in Technologies for Adult ... - January 29th, 2015
- Gordie Howe's stem cell therapy raises concerns among medical experts - January 29th, 2015
- Gordie Howe's stem cell therapy raises concerns among experts - January 29th, 2015
- BioTime Announces Issuance of 14 New Patents in the Fields of Regenerative Medicine, Stem Cell Technology, and Cancer ... - January 27th, 2015
- Keeping the Kraken asleep - January 27th, 2015
- Helmholtz International Fellow Award for Prof. Amanda Fisher from London - January 27th, 2015
- Regenestem Network, a division of Global Stem Cells Group, Announces Launch of New Stem Cells and Regenerative ... - January 22nd, 2015
- Scientists announce revolutionary culturing technique for liver and pancreas - January 22nd, 2015
- New Type of Cell Found to Repair Lung Injury in Mice - January 18th, 2015
- Stem cells derived from amniotic tissues have immunosuppressive properties - January 16th, 2015
- Global Stem Cells Group to Move Headquarters to Larger Miami Lakes Office Complex - January 14th, 2015
- Peter S. Kim Named the Virginia and D.K. Ludwig Professor of Biochemistry at Stanford - January 13th, 2015
- Renowned professor's book addresses stem cell biology & regenerative medicine - January 13th, 2015
- Circadian rhythms regulate skin stem cell metabolism and expansion, study finds - January 7th, 2015
- Cord Blood Banking Leader, Cryo-Cell International, Continues to Support the Advancement of Regenerative Medicine - January 6th, 2015
- Scientists Develop Pioneering Method to Define Stages of Stem Cell Reprogramming - January 6th, 2015
- Pioneering method developed to define stages of stem cell reprogramming - January 6th, 2015
- The Irvine Stem Cell Treatment Center Announces Adult Stem Cell Public Seminars in Orange County, California - January 5th, 2015
- Ten years in, California's stem cell program is getting a reboot - January 4th, 2015
- Two-thirds of cancer cases are "bad luck," study says - January 1st, 2015
- 'Bad Luck' of Random Mutations Plays Predominant Role in Cancer, Study Shows - January 1st, 2015