Plenary sessions
Plenary I: PRESIDENTIAL SYMPOSIUM
This Presidential Symposium highlights the integration of perspectives across the fields of biology, engineering, medicine, and the humanities, through research in developmental and reproductive biology, host-microbe interactions in global health, disease modeling, and clinical applications. It is through the richness of our varied scientific interests, backgrounds, and approaches that we can convey one message: interdisciplinarity and equity ethics will significantly advance our field and deliver impact on human health.
Claire Booth, PhD
UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, UK
Vidita Vaidya, PhD
Tata Institute of Fundamental Research, India
Michael Pepper, MBChB, MD, PhD
Institute for Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Pretoria, South Africa
Masayo Takahashi, MD, PhD
Vision Care Inc., and Kobe City Eye Hospital, Ritsumeikan University, Japan
Plenary II: Development Across Scales: From Fertilization to Tissues to Animals
Sponsored by: Stem Cell Reports
The principles of development form the cornerstone of our expanding knowledge of health and disease. This session will cover studies across model systems, offering insights from the gene, cell, tissue, and animal levels.
Misao Fujita, MS, MPH, PhD
Center for iPS Cell Research and Application, Kyoto University, Japan
Tao Tan, PhD
Kunming University of Science and Technology, China
Bo Wang, PhD
Stanford University, USA
Hongmei Wang, PhD
Institute of Zoology, Chinese Academy of Sciences, China
Anne McLaren Memorial Lecture
Plenary III: Adult Homeostasis: Stem Cells in Physiology and Disease
Sponsored by: Roche
Stem cells are the engines of daily regeneration essential for adult homeostasis. This session will explore advances in organ and disease models, the use of stem cells to study aging and neurodegeneration and address technical challenges in disease modeling to enhance therapies.
James Hudson, PhD, FISHR
QIMR Berghofer, Australia
Hongyan Wang, PhD
Duke-NUS Medical School, Singapore
Paola Arlotta, PhD
Harvard University, USA
2025 ISSCR Momentum Award Winner
The Momentum Award is sponsored by:
Toshio Suda, MD, PhD
Institute of Hematology and Blood Diseases Hospital, China
Ernest McCulloch Memorial Lecture
plenary IV: Stem Cells for Human Therapy
Sponsored by: BlueRock Therapeutics
Stem cells are both harbingers of disease and beacons of therapeutic innovation. This session will explore cutting-edge research in cancer, transplantation, AI in clinical trials, and advancements in stem cell therapies.
Stuart Forbes, PhD
The University of Edinburgh, UK
Masaya Nakamura, PhD
Keio University, Japan
Wenning Qin, PhD
eGenesis, USA
John McNeish Memorial Lecture
Jean Yang, PhD
University of Sydney, Australia
Plenary V: The Power of Community Engagement for Scientific Discovery and Impact
Sponsored by: The Burroughs Wellcome Fund
This session will use compelling examples to highlight how scientific discovery can meaningfully engage with communities to drive innovation and transformative therapies. It will also explore how systemic structures and societal values impact the scientific process, emphasizing the importance of aligning research with community needs and priorities.
Community Engagement and Outreach in Scientific Discovery
This session convenes a panel of experts from diverse fields to discuss community-driven initiatives that have catalyzed scientific discovery and life-changing therapies, offering strategies for stem cell scientists to build trust and impactful collaborations at both the micro and macro scales.
Raeka Aiyar, PhD
Community Science, LLC, USA
Ya-Wen Chen, PhD
Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, USA
Evan L. Graham, PhD
BioLamina, USA
Christine Anne Wells, PhD
University of Melbourne, Australia
From Advocacy to Access: SMA Patient Voices from Hong Kong
This session features first-hand interviews with Hong Kong Spinal Muscular Atrophy (SMA) patients, conducted by their neurologist, highlighting how patient advocacy, clinical expertise, and government support have transformed treatment access, opening the door for new treatments and positively impacting patients and families.
Sophelia Chan, MD
The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong, China
Josy Pui Shan Chow
The Hong Kong Society of Neuromuscular Diseases, Hong Kong, China
Read her story.
The Ku Family
Hong Kong, China
Read their story.
plenary vI: Awards and Keynote session
This is the capstone of the Annual Meeting and will include lectures from winners of the ISSCR Outstanding Young Investigator, Momentum and Achievement Awards in addition to the Keynote Address.
Giulio Cossu, MD
The University of Manchester, UK
Keynote Speaker
Yonatan Stelzer, PhD
Weizmann Institute of Science, Israel
2025 ISSCR Outstanding Young Investigator Award Winner
The Outstanding Young Investigator Award is sponsored by:
Gordon Keller, PhD
McEwen Stem Cell Institute, University Health Network, Canada
2025 ISSCR Achievement Award Winner
The Achievement Award is sponsored by:
