Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) hold great potential as therapies to repair damaged tissue or replace cell types missing due to genetic defects. However, even iPSCs derived from a patient can mutate in culture, causing immune rejection when they are re-transplanted. Being able to control immune rejection is key to using iPSCs as theraputics. The end goal, for safety and efficiency, is a gene-engineered, hypoimmunogenic, universal cell product. In this talk, Sonja Schrepfer of Sana Biotechnologies will describe how she and Sana are working to ensure that transplanted iPSCs survive both T cell and innate immune surveillance.
Where & When
Zoom Webinar
1:00 to 2:00 PM PT, Wednesday, September 15, 2021
About the Speaker
Sonja Schrepfer, MD, PhD, is Head of Hypoimmune Platform at Sana Biotechnology, an Adjunct Professor at University of California, San Francisco in the Department of Surgery, and Founder of the Transplant and Stem Cell Immunobiology (TSI) lab at Stanford University.
Sonja received her MD and PhD from the Universities Wuerzburg and Hamburg where she was awarded the Heisenberg Professorship for her work to understand the immune barrier in stem cell biology for regenerative medicine. Sonja and her team subsequently decreased the immunogenic potential of stem cells to generate hypo-immunogenic tissues and organs, work that was funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and National Institutes of Health among others.