2014 International Symposium on Clinical Transformation of Stem Cells Held

　　From October 13th to 15th, the first stop of the international series of symposiums on "Bridging the Biomedical Field"-"Turning Resistance into Opportunity-2014 International Symposium on Clinical Transformation of Stem Cells" was held in Beijing.

　　Stem cells bring hope for the treatment of many human diseases and injuries. The basic and clinical transformation of stem cells has become one of the most attractive fields in life science research. In order to further promote the process of stem cell research and clinical transformation, and strengthen the communication and cooperation among stem cell biologists, bioengineers, clinicians and industrial people, the conference was co-sponsored by the Ipsen Foundation of France, the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Science magazine, the American Association for the Advancement of Science/Science Translational Medicine magazine, Professor Fred Gage (Salk Institute of Biology, USA) and researcher Zhou Qi (Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences).

　　The topics of this conference include: cell fate selection and reprogramming, small animal and large animal models, tissue and organ regeneration, stem cell transformation and clinical application, new tools and technologies, and two expert group discussions, namely, international guidelines for stem cell therapy and transformation obstacles encountered in stem cell therapy. The meeting invited more than 20 famous experts from China, Europe, the United States and Japan to give special reports on the latest research results on these topics. The experts’ high-quality reports and free discussions were well received by the participants.

　　The conference has played a positive role in discussing the obstacles, risks and ethical disputes in the process of stem cell clinical transformation, promoting the transformation process of basic stem cell research, strengthening in-depth exchanges and extensive cooperation between researchers, bioengineers, clinicians and industry scientists at home and abroad, and exploring how to formulate relevant national and international policies, regulations and management methods to ensure the healthy and rapid development of global stem cell clinical research and treatment.