The UCSF Sickle Cell Center of Excellence Gene Therapy Town Hall
Saturday, June 1st, 2024
Please join us on Saturday, June 1st at 1:00pm PST for the UCSF Sickle Cell Center of Excellence Gene Therapy Town hall, hosted by The UCSF Alpha Clinic! This live, virtual event will be jam-packed with value for sickle cell warriors and families, providers, and researchers! Patients will be able to learn and ask questions about the science of gene therapy, treatment logistics, resources, and what it is like to receive gene therapy first-hand! Additionally, this is a great opportunity for providers AND both basic and social science researchers to delve into the patient perspective, a perspective that is invaluable to understanding the impact and purpose of the work that you do. To register for the event, scan the QR code below or click here.
The Gordon Research Conference on Epithelial Stem Cells and Niches is excited to announce the call for applications for this year's conference on August 11 - 16, 2024 in Castelldefels, B, Spain.
The Epithelial Stem Cells and Niches GRC is a premier, international scientific conference focused on advancing the frontiers of science through the presentation of cutting-edge and unpublished research, prioritizing time for discussion after each talk and fostering informal interactions among scientists of all career stages. The conference program includes a diverse range of speakers and discussion leaders from institutions and organizations worldwide, concentrating on the latest developments in the field. The conference is five days long and held in a remote location to increase the sense of camaraderie and create scientific communities, with lasting collaborations and friendships. In addition to premier talks, the conference has designated time for poster sessions from individuals of all career stages, and afternoon free time and communal meals allow for informal networking opportunities with leaders in the field.
Epithelial tissues are maintained by populations of stem cells residing in unique environments – so called niches. These niches provide stable environments that safeguard stem cell properties by carefully controlling self-renewal and differentiation. This ensures that the overall balance between cell loss and gain with tissues is maintained during steady state homeostasis. Stem cell niches are complex structures, which contain a range of different cell types including non-epithelial cells, matrix components organized into specialized structural component. As such epithelial stem cells are regulated by a range of both intrinsic and extrinsic signals. Upon tissue damage, stem cells will however have to respond rapidly by generating offspring to restore tissue function and architecture. This obviously requires that the local microenvironment and niche can respond to these needs and thereby support the process. Disease will occur if either the normal homeostatic or regenerative behavior of stem cells is compromised. It is consequently important to understand the intrinsic and extrinsic components that influence epithelial stem cells in vivo, in living animals, to produce specific functional cell types and ultimately rebuild and maintain functional organs. Epithelial stem cells present an opportunity for accelerated understanding of tissue biology, as some relevant principles and regulatory pathways in several different epithelial tissues overlap. Breaking news in one epithelial system could solve similar problems in another tissue. Thus, sharing ideas and most recent information will benefit the field as a whole. The GRC on Epithelia Stem Cells and their Niches will include work from the epidermis and its appendages, intestine, lung, mammary gland, oral & craniofacial complex, and other emerging epithelial tissues, in several model organisms. The focus of the 2024 conference is intrinsic and extrinsic regulation of tissue stem cells using cutting edge techniques such as single cell analysis, organoid cultures and transplantation across murine, human and developmental model organism systems.
Applications for this meeting must be submitted by July 14, 2024. All are encouraged to apply!
We look forward to bringing our community back together again and hope to see you there!