New Content Types Published in StemJournal

Opting to submit a position paper is your chance to give readers a snapshot update of a highly topical subject where you can share your perspective and thoughts on advances and critical issues in the field and speculates on potential outcomes and future developments. This is also an opportuniy to present an arguable opinion about an issue and can be supported by reasonable preponderance of empirical evidence.

Position Paper #1: More Bang for Your Buck: “Off-The-Shelf” Solutions for Cell Replacement Therapy

Our first position paper – co-authored by Torsten B. Meissner and Chad A. Cowan – was published in August and gave an overview of the current approaches for turning universal stem cells into a viable commercial option. The main challenges of this are addressed in the position paper (view the PDF here) and we got some further insight from Torsten Meissner in the Q&A where he pointed out that, importantly, there is a demand for better animal models that predict cell engraftment in the presence of a human immune system. "This should be done in close collaboration with the regulatory agencies to develop a cell product that is safe, efficacious, and of reproducible quality." 

Poster reports are short reports based on a poster that was presented at a meeting, conference or workshop – either physical or virtual. The content should follow the poster presentation and should fall within the Aims & Scope of StemJournal. Have you spent time creating a poster to communicate your research to your peers at a meeting? Now, you can publish it for prosterity. Concurrently, the article will also be co-published here online in StemMeets.

Poster Report #1: Organoid Maturation by Circadian Entrainment

Our first poster report – by Juan R. Alvarez-Dominguez, et al. – is based on a poster that was first presented at the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) Retreat that took place in May 2020. The research in focus is looking at circadian rhythms in pancreatic islet organoids, by entraining them to daily feeding-fasting cycles, elicits their metabolic maturation. The study found that rhythms can be harnessed to further functional maturation of organoids destined for human therapeutics. Watch out for the Q&A with the author coming later this month!