Seeking clues from the sea to regulate “stem cells”... Seminar on cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease

[Financial News] A world-renowned Harvard scholar who has studied stem cell treatments for Parkinson’s disease and marine scientists will gather in Jeju. They will join forces to find clues to regulating stem cell function in marine organisms.
The Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST) said it will hold a special seminar featuring Professor Kwang-Soo Kim of Harvard Medical School in the United States (pictured) on the 19th at the KIOST Jeju Research Institute.
The seminar was organized to share research advances in stem cell treatments for Parkinson’s disease and explore the potential applications of marine biomaterials and ways to pursue international joint research.
Professor Kwang-Soo Kim is director of the Molecular Neurobiology Laboratory at McLean Hospital, Harvard Medical School, and a world-renowned scholar in stem cells, neural regeneration and cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease. He has drawn particular attention for being the first in the world to differentiate induced pluripotent stem cells made from a Parkinson’s patient’s own cells into dopamine neurons and successfully transplant them back into that patient.
This achievement opened up a new treatment possibility more than 200 years after British physician James Parkinson first reported the disease in a paper in 1817.
At the seminar, Professor Kim will speak on “Stem Cell Treatment Research for Parkinson’s Disease.” He is expected to introduce stem cell differentiation techniques and the clinical application process for patient-tailored cell therapy, and emphasize the importance of “bidirectional translational research” that moves between basic research and clinical practice.
KIOST is also pursuing a strategic research project to localize marine organism-based materials for regulating stem cell differentiation and build an industrialization ecosystem, while seeking materials from marine organisms that can regulate stem cell proliferation and differentiation. The researchers plan to identify how the materials they discover work and assess their efficacy, apply Professor Kim’s stem cell research findings to marine biomaterials research, and expand their applications to research on neurodegenerative diseases.
A KIOST official explained, “We plan to develop this seminar into a regular academic event in the form of an international symposium,” adding, “Our vision is to make it a venue for exchange where domestic and international experts in marine biotechnology, stem cells, aging biology, neuroscience and regenerative medicine can identify new interdisciplinary research topics.”[email protected] Byeon Ok-hwan Reporter