Kyoto University Hospital held its 12th iPS Cell/Regenerative Medicine Study Seminar on 3 July in the University's Clock Tower Centennial Hall. The program was inaugurated in November 2009 with the aim of promoting regenerative medicine research based on the use of stem cells -- embryonic, somatic, and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells -- and disseminating results achieved at the Hospital for the betterment of medicine. Over 110 individuals from the University and elsewhere, most of them medical experts, attended the seminar.
After an opening address by the Deputy-Director of KU Hospital, Professor Toshio Heike, Mr Kazuki Miyazaki, a researcher in the Oncology hhc Unit at Eisai Co Ltd, gave a talk on "Lenvatinib: a New Molecularly-Targeted Anticancer Agent". This was followed by two academic lectures by KU researchers: "Working on Development of Regenerative Treatment of Diabetes Using iPS Cells" by Professor Kenji Osafune from the Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), and "Recellularizing Decellularized Livers: a Step Towards Liver Failure Treatment Based on Organ Engineering" by Lecturer Kentaro Yasuchika from KU Hospital.
The seminar closed with a special lecture by Dr Masayo Takahashi, Project Leader at the Laboratory for Retinal Regeneration, RIKEN Center for Developmental Biology, entitled "iPS Cell-Based Retinal Cell Therapy", which the audience followed with close attention.
Dr Takahashi from RIKEN delivering the special lecture
KU Hospital Deputy-Director Heike giving the opening talk
