SCSS Mini-Symposium
The Stem Cell Society Singapore (SCSS) cordially invites you to join us for the
SCSS Mini-Symposium & Annual General Meeting 2017
which will be held on the 23 June 2017.
This Mini-Symposium will feature the following speakers:
The Stem Cell Society Singapore (SCSS) cordially invites you to join us for the
SCSS Mini-Symposium & Annual General Meeting 2017
which will be held on the 23 June 2017.
This Mini-Symposium will feature the following speakers:
Norbert PERRIMON, Harvard Medical School, US
Thorsten BOROVIAK, University of Cambridge, UK
Leif OXBURGH, Maine Medical Center, US
Melissa LITTLE, Royal Children’s Hospital, AUS
For more information about the programme please scroll to the sections below.
Admission is FREE and event is open to public but registration is required.
Seats are limited.
Seats are limited.
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Event Details
Day: 23 June 2017 Time: 8:30am-12:15pm Venue: Amphitheater Duke-NUS Medical School, Level 2 8 College Road Singapore 169857 |
Location Map
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PROGRAMME (tentative)
8:30 - 09:00 Registration
8:45 - 09:00 Welcome Address
SCSS MINI-SYMPOSIUM
Amphitheater @Duke-NUS, Singapore
9:00 – 9:30 Control of stem cell proliferation and differentiation in the Drosophila gut
Norbert PERRIMON, Harvard Medical School, United States
9:30 – 10:00 The blueprint of primate preimplantation development
Thorsten BOROVIAK, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
10:00 – 10:30 Cellular origins of the nephron
Leif OXBURGH, Maine Medical Center, United States
10:30 – 11:00 Directing stem cells to kidney: from development to regeneration
Melissa LITTLE, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE STEM CELL SOCIETY SINGAPORE
Meeting room 05-5C, L5 Duke-NUS
11:00 – 11:30 REFRESHMENTS @ Meeting room 05-5C, L5 Duke-NUS
11:30 – 12:15 AGM 2017 (for SCSS members only)
12:15 END OF EVENT
8:30 - 09:00 Registration
8:45 - 09:00 Welcome Address
SCSS MINI-SYMPOSIUM
Amphitheater @Duke-NUS, Singapore
9:00 – 9:30 Control of stem cell proliferation and differentiation in the Drosophila gut
Norbert PERRIMON, Harvard Medical School, United States
9:30 – 10:00 The blueprint of primate preimplantation development
Thorsten BOROVIAK, University of Cambridge, United Kingdom
10:00 – 10:30 Cellular origins of the nephron
Leif OXBURGH, Maine Medical Center, United States
10:30 – 11:00 Directing stem cells to kidney: from development to regeneration
Melissa LITTLE, Royal Children’s Hospital, Melbourne, Australia
ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING OF THE STEM CELL SOCIETY SINGAPORE
Meeting room 05-5C, L5 Duke-NUS
11:00 – 11:30 REFRESHMENTS @ Meeting room 05-5C, L5 Duke-NUS
11:30 – 12:15 AGM 2017 (for SCSS members only)
12:15 END OF EVENT
Admission is FREE and event is open to public but registration is required.
Seats are limited.
Seats are limited.
The SPEAKERS
Norbert PERRIMON, Harvard Medical School, US
ABSTRACT
Control of stem cell proliferation and differentiation in the Drosophila gut
Precise regulation of epithelial stem cells is critical to maintain tissue integrity and prevent over-proliferation and cancer. Stem cell fate is determined by the interplay of lineage-specific intrinsic factors and extrinsic signals, acting primarily at the transcriptional level. Drosophila adult intestinal stem cells are an excellent basic model for epithelial stem cell fate as their modes of cell division and extrinsic signals are broadly conserved in mammals. I will present recent work to identify genes and pathways involved in the control of gut homeostasis. In particular, I will describe our recent identification of a number of ion channels that either directly or indirectly regulate stem cell proliferation and describe approaches to address the spatial and temporal regulation of signaling pathway activities in the gut.
BIOSKETCH
Dr. Perrimon has 30 years of experience in the fields of developmental genetics, signal transduction and genomics. By developing, improving, and applying a number of genetic techniques (germline clones, FLP/FRT, Gal4/UAS, etc.), his group identified many key components of the Receptor Tyrosine Kinases, JAK/STAT, Wnt, Hedgehog and Notch signaling pathways. In recent years, his group established high-throughput genome-wide RNAi screens to systematically interrogate the entire Drosophila genome in various cell-based assays. In 2003 he created the Drosophila RNAi Screening Center at Harvard Medical School to make this technology available to the community. In addition, in 2008, he initiated the Transgenic RNAi Project to generate transgenic RNAi lines for the community using optimized shRNA vectors that his lab developed. Currently, his laboratory is applying large-scale RNAi and proteomic methods to obtain a global understanding to the structure of a number of signaling pathways and their crosstalks. In addition, he is studying the roles of signaling pathways in homeostasis and tissue remodeling in Drosophila muscles and gut stem cells. Dr. Perrimon has trained more than 80 students and postdoctoral fellows, most of whom currently hold academic positions.
Control of stem cell proliferation and differentiation in the Drosophila gut
Precise regulation of epithelial stem cells is critical to maintain tissue integrity and prevent over-proliferation and cancer. Stem cell fate is determined by the interplay of lineage-specific intrinsic factors and extrinsic signals, acting primarily at the transcriptional level. Drosophila adult intestinal stem cells are an excellent basic model for epithelial stem cell fate as their modes of cell division and extrinsic signals are broadly conserved in mammals. I will present recent work to identify genes and pathways involved in the control of gut homeostasis. In particular, I will describe our recent identification of a number of ion channels that either directly or indirectly regulate stem cell proliferation and describe approaches to address the spatial and temporal regulation of signaling pathway activities in the gut.
BIOSKETCH
Dr. Perrimon has 30 years of experience in the fields of developmental genetics, signal transduction and genomics. By developing, improving, and applying a number of genetic techniques (germline clones, FLP/FRT, Gal4/UAS, etc.), his group identified many key components of the Receptor Tyrosine Kinases, JAK/STAT, Wnt, Hedgehog and Notch signaling pathways. In recent years, his group established high-throughput genome-wide RNAi screens to systematically interrogate the entire Drosophila genome in various cell-based assays. In 2003 he created the Drosophila RNAi Screening Center at Harvard Medical School to make this technology available to the community. In addition, in 2008, he initiated the Transgenic RNAi Project to generate transgenic RNAi lines for the community using optimized shRNA vectors that his lab developed. Currently, his laboratory is applying large-scale RNAi and proteomic methods to obtain a global understanding to the structure of a number of signaling pathways and their crosstalks. In addition, he is studying the roles of signaling pathways in homeostasis and tissue remodeling in Drosophila muscles and gut stem cells. Dr. Perrimon has trained more than 80 students and postdoctoral fellows, most of whom currently hold academic positions.
Melissa LITTLE, University of Melbourne, AUS
ABSTRACT
Directing stem cells to kidney: from development to regeneration
Recent studies investigating the directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells have observed the spontaneous 3D patterning of tissue organoids, including brain, optic cup, stomach and intestine. Such protocols are based on a deep understanding of the normal processes of embryonic patterning of the tissue to be generated and upon an inherent capacity for self-organisation of cells within developing tissues. Development of the mammalian kidney involves reciprocal signalling between critical progenitor populations to drive the formation of a branching ureteric tree and a nephron-producing surrounding mesenchyme. Based on detailed temporospatial transcriptional and morphological analyses of kidney development, we have developed a protocol for the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into kidney organoids containing collecting duct epithelium, patterned and segmenting nephrons, surrounding interstitium and vasculature. This involves the stepwise induction of posterior primitive streak, anterior and posterior intermediate mesoderm and ultimately progenitors of all epithelial and non-epithelial components of the final organ. The development of this protocol opens the door on disease modelling and drug screening using organoids as a model of the kidney. In the longer term, such an approach may provide the requisite cell types for new therapies for kidney disease, including cellular therapy and bioengineered renal tissue.
BIOSKETCH
Professor Melissa Little is the Theme Director of Cell Biology at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia, Program Leader of Stem Cells Australia, University of Melbourne and President of the Australasian Society for Stem Cell Research. She is internationally recognised for her work on the systems biology of kidney development and also her pioneering studies into potential regenerative therapies for kidney disease. This has resulted in the identification of factors capable of reprogramming to kidney and protocols for the directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells to kidney organoids.
Directing stem cells to kidney: from development to regeneration
Recent studies investigating the directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells have observed the spontaneous 3D patterning of tissue organoids, including brain, optic cup, stomach and intestine. Such protocols are based on a deep understanding of the normal processes of embryonic patterning of the tissue to be generated and upon an inherent capacity for self-organisation of cells within developing tissues. Development of the mammalian kidney involves reciprocal signalling between critical progenitor populations to drive the formation of a branching ureteric tree and a nephron-producing surrounding mesenchyme. Based on detailed temporospatial transcriptional and morphological analyses of kidney development, we have developed a protocol for the differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells into kidney organoids containing collecting duct epithelium, patterned and segmenting nephrons, surrounding interstitium and vasculature. This involves the stepwise induction of posterior primitive streak, anterior and posterior intermediate mesoderm and ultimately progenitors of all epithelial and non-epithelial components of the final organ. The development of this protocol opens the door on disease modelling and drug screening using organoids as a model of the kidney. In the longer term, such an approach may provide the requisite cell types for new therapies for kidney disease, including cellular therapy and bioengineered renal tissue.
BIOSKETCH
Professor Melissa Little is the Theme Director of Cell Biology at the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute in Melbourne, Australia, Program Leader of Stem Cells Australia, University of Melbourne and President of the Australasian Society for Stem Cell Research. She is internationally recognised for her work on the systems biology of kidney development and also her pioneering studies into potential regenerative therapies for kidney disease. This has resulted in the identification of factors capable of reprogramming to kidney and protocols for the directed differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells to kidney organoids.
Thorsten BOROVIAK, Cambridge University, UK
ABSTRACT
The blueprint of primate preimplantation development
Preimplantation development in rodent and primate establishes the founding cell population of the foetus in the epiblast and segregates two extraembryonic lineages, trophoblast and hypoblast. Most of our current knowledge about these cell-fate decisions is derived from studies in mouse. However, transcriptional profiling of human embryos has suggested substantial differences to the mouse paradigm. Here, we set out to delineate the primate-specific aspects of preimplantation development. We present a high-quality single-cell RNA-seq dataset from zygote to late blastocyst in marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). In addition, we generated stage-matched samples in mouse (Mus musculus) and re-analysed three human single-cell datasets. Weighted gene network analysis independently identified the establishment of epiblast and hypoblast transcriptional modules. NANOG, SOX2, TDGF1 and TFCP2L1 were highly expressed in the epiblast of all three species. In contrast, KLF17, ARGFX, KHDC3L, LEFTY2 and CTSF represented primate-specific factors of the pluripotency network in vivo. Global features of epiblast and hypoblast segregation included the ERK cascade, apoptosis and extracellular matrix, while we identified elevated levels of BMP and WNT signalling components in primates. Strikingly, the mouse epiblast marker Otx2 is specifically expressed in human and marmoset hypoblast. Our cross-species analysis approach demarcates conserved and primate-specific features of mammalian preimplantation development and provides a rich resource for comparative embryology.
BIOSKETCH
My primary research interest revolves around embryogenesis, the ability of undifferentiated embryonic cells to gradually build a complex organism. As a postdoc in Dr. Jennifer Nichols lab, we began to unravel preimplantation development in the common marmoset, a non-human primate, using lineage-specific RNA-seq. I developed this method to combine high sensitivity and reporter-based fate assignment to acquire the full spectrum of gene expression from discrete embryonic cell types. Comparison of inner cell masses from mouse and marmoset blastocysts identified a similar complement of pluripotency factors, but suggested a radical departure from signalling pathways utilised in mouse. We tested this hypothesis in embryo culture experiments and confirmed that, unlike rodents, primate embryos require WNT signalling for early lineage specification of extraembryonic tissues. Currently, I am in the process of applying for an independent position. In the future, I would like to focus on the enigmatic transition from pre- to postimplantation development in primates and its crucial interactions between embryonic and extraembryonic tissues.
The blueprint of primate preimplantation development
Preimplantation development in rodent and primate establishes the founding cell population of the foetus in the epiblast and segregates two extraembryonic lineages, trophoblast and hypoblast. Most of our current knowledge about these cell-fate decisions is derived from studies in mouse. However, transcriptional profiling of human embryos has suggested substantial differences to the mouse paradigm. Here, we set out to delineate the primate-specific aspects of preimplantation development. We present a high-quality single-cell RNA-seq dataset from zygote to late blastocyst in marmoset (Callithrix jacchus). In addition, we generated stage-matched samples in mouse (Mus musculus) and re-analysed three human single-cell datasets. Weighted gene network analysis independently identified the establishment of epiblast and hypoblast transcriptional modules. NANOG, SOX2, TDGF1 and TFCP2L1 were highly expressed in the epiblast of all three species. In contrast, KLF17, ARGFX, KHDC3L, LEFTY2 and CTSF represented primate-specific factors of the pluripotency network in vivo. Global features of epiblast and hypoblast segregation included the ERK cascade, apoptosis and extracellular matrix, while we identified elevated levels of BMP and WNT signalling components in primates. Strikingly, the mouse epiblast marker Otx2 is specifically expressed in human and marmoset hypoblast. Our cross-species analysis approach demarcates conserved and primate-specific features of mammalian preimplantation development and provides a rich resource for comparative embryology.
BIOSKETCH
My primary research interest revolves around embryogenesis, the ability of undifferentiated embryonic cells to gradually build a complex organism. As a postdoc in Dr. Jennifer Nichols lab, we began to unravel preimplantation development in the common marmoset, a non-human primate, using lineage-specific RNA-seq. I developed this method to combine high sensitivity and reporter-based fate assignment to acquire the full spectrum of gene expression from discrete embryonic cell types. Comparison of inner cell masses from mouse and marmoset blastocysts identified a similar complement of pluripotency factors, but suggested a radical departure from signalling pathways utilised in mouse. We tested this hypothesis in embryo culture experiments and confirmed that, unlike rodents, primate embryos require WNT signalling for early lineage specification of extraembryonic tissues. Currently, I am in the process of applying for an independent position. In the future, I would like to focus on the enigmatic transition from pre- to postimplantation development in primates and its crucial interactions between embryonic and extraembryonic tissues.
Leif OXBURGH, Main Medical Center, US
ABSTRACT
Cellular origins of the nephron
Over 10% of the adult population has chronic kidney disease according to current clinical definitions. The condition is often progressive, leading to end-stage disease and a requirement for renal replacement therapy. Dialysis and transplantation are life-saving, but have strict limitations. Dialysis removes urea but does not provide the many complex physiological functions of the kidney. While transplantation does provide a complete physiological replacement, organs are only available for a small fraction of patients. Stem cell biology has opened possibilities to generate new kidney tissue, and considerable progress has been made toward modeling the developmental process through directed differentiation of pluripotent stem cells. Our work focuses on understanding the signaling pathways governing nephron progenitor cells in the mouse. This talk will cover current progress in understanding cell signaling that regulates the balance between renewal and differentiation of these cells.
BIOSKETCH
Dr Oxburgh is a senior scientist at Maine Medical Center Research Institute in Portland, Maine where he established a research laboratory in the Center for Molecular Medicine 2004. His academic appointment is at Tufts University Medical School where is Associate Professor. Since his postdoctoral training at Harvard University he has focused on the developmental biology of the mammalian kidney. His research focuses on understanding the cell signaling network that governs self-renewal and differentiation decisions of nephron progenitor cells. This work aims to explore the fundamental biology of progenitor cell differentiation and also seeks to apply our evolving understanding of the complex cell biology of these cells to development of synthetic kidney tissue for clinical use.
Cellular origins of the nephron
Over 10% of the adult population has chronic kidney disease according to current clinical definitions. The condition is often progressive, leading to end-stage disease and a requirement for renal replacement therapy. Dialysis and transplantation are life-saving, but have strict limitations. Dialysis removes urea but does not provide the many complex physiological functions of the kidney. While transplantation does provide a complete physiological replacement, organs are only available for a small fraction of patients. Stem cell biology has opened possibilities to generate new kidney tissue, and considerable progress has been made toward modeling the developmental process through directed differentiation of pluripotent stem cells. Our work focuses on understanding the signaling pathways governing nephron progenitor cells in the mouse. This talk will cover current progress in understanding cell signaling that regulates the balance between renewal and differentiation of these cells.
BIOSKETCH
Dr Oxburgh is a senior scientist at Maine Medical Center Research Institute in Portland, Maine where he established a research laboratory in the Center for Molecular Medicine 2004. His academic appointment is at Tufts University Medical School where is Associate Professor. Since his postdoctoral training at Harvard University he has focused on the developmental biology of the mammalian kidney. His research focuses on understanding the cell signaling network that governs self-renewal and differentiation decisions of nephron progenitor cells. This work aims to explore the fundamental biology of progenitor cell differentiation and also seeks to apply our evolving understanding of the complex cell biology of these cells to development of synthetic kidney tissue for clinical use.