11:30 am to 12:30 pm
Mikael Martino, Ph.D. Assistant Professor World Premier International Immunology Frontier Research Center Osaka University, Japan
Extracurricular Matrix, Growth Factors, Stem Cells and the Immune System – Understanding and Recreating the Multifaceted Regenerative Microenvironment
Regenerative medicine will play a crucial role in meeting future healthcare challenges, but its promises are largely not fulfilled today. For example, numerous clinical trials have failed to show effectiveness of therapies based on growth factors or stem/progenitor cells. Clearly, to make regenerative therapies a reality, we must better understand the interactions between the multiple actors that shape the regenerative microenvironment. First, I will present novel growth factor-based strategies inspired from the growth factor regulatory function of the extracellular matrix1-3. Secondly, I will focus on the immune modulation of stem cells and tissue regeneration, since understanding and controlling this aspect is fundamental for the development of better regenerative therapies. As an example, I will present recent findings demonstrating that the innate immune response controls tissue-resident and transplanted mesenchymal stem cell functions. Then, I will give perspectives for designing novel regenerative medicine therapies that integrate a control of the immune system.
Biography: Dr. Martino obtained his PhD at the Ecole Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (Switzerland), in 2011. In the laboratory of Prof. Jeffrey A. Hubbell, he principally focused on the growth factor regulatory function of the extracellular matrix. Notably, he developed a novel growth factor delivery system that is currently in clinical development. For his postdoctoral training, Dr. Martino received grants from the Swiss National Science foundation to perform research in Japan at Osaka University. In the laboratory of Prof. Shizuo Akira, he concentrated on how the innate immune system influences stem cell-based tissue regeneration. He is now Assistant Professor in Osaka University, focusing on the immune regulations of tissue regeneration. Dr. Martino’s long-term goal is to work at the interface between bioengineering, stem cell biology, and immunology, in order to develop novel and efficient regenerative medicine therapies that integrate a control the immune system.
Location
1005 GBSF
