Can stem cells treat cancer or autoimmune conditions? What can they tell us about Alzheimer’s disease? How will big data and genetic engineering change medicine? What will regenerative medicine deliver in the next few years? And what are the ethics we need to consider?

 
Brisbane event: Stem cell research – now and in the future
When: 5:30 pm – 7:00pm, Tuesday 12 November
Where: State Library of Queensland, Stanley Place, South Brisbane
 
How are Australian stem cell scientists shaping tomorrow’s treatments?

The Foundation is sponsoring an Australasian Society for Stem Cell Research public event to give the community a way to tap into the knowledge and expertise of Queensland scientists.
 
This is a unique opportunity to have your questions answered by the experts and to learn more about what the future may hold as stem cell science discoveries move towards clinical translation.
 
Speakers:
 
• Dr Siok Tey from the QIMR Berghofer and Royal Brisbane & Women’s Hospital is a specialist clinician in blood cancer and bone marrow transplantation. She works with blood stem cells and immune cells to treat cancer and autoimmune conditions.
 
• Professor Ernst Wolvetang from the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, University of Queensland, uses stem cells to model brain and ageing diseases in a dish. These models are used to determine the causes of disease, develop diagnostic tools and to test potential treatments.
 
• Associate Professor Jessica Mar, also from the Australian Institute for Bioengineering and Nanotechnology, is a computational biologist who won a 2017 Metcalf Prize for her work using big data to understand, at the level of the cell, what is happening during ageing and disease.
 
• Professor Kiarash Khosrotehrani from the University of Queensland’s Diamantina Institute is a practicing clinician and researcher, interested in skin biology, regenerative medicine and skin cancer.
 
• Dr Nathan Palpant from the university’s Institute for Molecular Bioscience seeks to understand heart development by studying how stem cells differentiate into heart cells.
 
• Moderator: Associate Professor Megan Munsie from the University of Melbourne. Megan has combined academia and industry to develop an understanding of issues associated with stem cell research and its clinical translation, and has contributed to developing policies at a domestic and international level.
 
Doors open at 4:30pm and people are welcome to arrive early to explore a stem cell photography exhibition and meet the researchers.
 
For more information and to register, visit the forum’s Eventbrite page.