Spring Augusta University IRRM Regenerative Medicine Symposium

Meeting Keynote Speaker:

Arnold I. Caplan, PhD.
Case Western Reserve University

Arnold I. Caplan is professor of Biology and Director of the Skeletal Research Center at Case Western Reserve University. He is widely regarded as "The Father of the Mesenchymal Stem Cell". Dr. Caplan has served as Chief Scientific Officer and founder of Osiris Therapeutics,Inc., co-founded Cell Targeting Inc., and has served as Chief Scientific Officer of OrthoCyte Corporation, a subsidiary of BioTime, Inc. He is active in developing clinical translational therapies and advocating pathways for realizing cell therapeutic regenerative medicine. Learn more.

Eben Alsberg, PhD.
Case Western Reserve University

Dr. Alsberg took a faculty position in 2005 at Case Western Reserve University, where he is currently an associate professor of Biomedical Engineering and Orthopaedic Surgery and serves as Director of the Stem Cell and Engineered Novel Therapeutics Laboratory. His lab focuses on the engineering of new technologies to regenerate tissues and treat diseases through the development of novel bio-materials and micro-environments. He’s co-authored over 75 peer-reviewed papers and book chapters and 130 abstracts and conference proceedings. His work has been recognized with the 2008 Ellison Medical Foundation New Scholar in Aging Award and the Crain’s Cleveland Business 2009 Forty Under 40 Award. The NIH, DOD, NSF, the Ellison Medical Foundation, the Coulter Foundation, the Musculoskeletal Transplant Foundation, the State of Ohio and the AO Foundation have supported his lab’s research. Learn more.

Steve Stice, PhD.
University of Georgia

Dr. Steve Stice is a Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar endowed chair, Professor and Director of the Regenerative Bioscience Center at the University of Georgia. He serves as the Director of the Regenerative Engineering and Medicine partnership and also serves as Chief Scientific Officer for ArunA Biomedical Inc. Dr. Stice co-founded five biotechnology companies, including Advanced Cell Technology, and CytoGenesis, Inc., which was later purchased by BresaGen. Throughout his career, he has published and lectured on cloning and stem cell technologies. His research focuses on developing innovative animal cloning and stem cell technologies. He is also developing large animal models for use in neurological and orthopedic transitioning from preclinical studies in rodents to human clinical trials. Learn more.

David C. Hess, M.D.
Augusta University

David C. Hess holds the Presidential Distinguished Chair and is the Chair of the Department of Neurology at MCG of Augusta University and Clinical Chair of the Brain and Behavior Discovery Institute at Augusta University. He has been part of the STEPS 1, 2, and 3 meetings to develop recommendations for clinical trials of cell therapies in stroke. Dr. Hess has worked in both the pre-clinical arena and in clinical trial design of cell therapies. He has worked closely with Athersys, Inc on the MASTERS clinical trial in stroke.

Dr Hess is a specialist in Cerebrovascular Disease and Stroke. He is actively involved in the MCG Stroke Program Stroke Service, and sees outpatients with a wide variety of neurological problems. Dr Hess's research interests include the use of bone marrow-derived stem cells to regenerate the brain after stroke; and the planning and coordination of clinical trials to prevent stroke. Learn more.

Johnna Temenoff, PhD.
Georgia Institute of Technology

Dr. Temenoff is currently an Associate Professor in the Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering at Georgia Tech/Emory University in Atlanta, GA. Over the course of her career to date, Dr. Temenoff has published over 40 peer-reviewed papers and 10 book chapters, co-authored a biomaterials textbook published by Pearson-Prentice Hall, and has produced ~90 scientific abstracts for national and international conferences. Dr. Temenoff has received funding from a wide range of sources, including federal agencies (NIH and NSF) and groups such as the Aircast Foundation and National Football League Charities, and currently serves at the Principle Investigator on a NIH T32 Predoctoral Training grant in Biomaterials. She has been honored with several prestigious awards, such as AIMBE Fellow, the NSF CAREER Award, and the Arthritis Foundation Investigator Award, and was recently named the Co-Director for the Regenerative Engineering and Medicine Center, a statewide initiative encompassing Georgia Tech, U. Georgia, and Emory University. Learn more.

Liisa Kuhn, PhD.
University of Connecticut Health Center

Dr. Liisa Kuhn is a tenured Associate Professor in the Reconstructive Sciences Department at the University of Connecticut Health Center (UConn Health) and a faculty member of the UConn Biomedical Engineering Department. Prior to joining the faculty of UConn in 2002, Dr. Kuhn was Director of Orthopaedics Product Development for ETEX Corporation in Boston, MA, and Director of Development for NaturApatites Co., Inc., a bone graft substitute company which she co-founded.

Her research in orthopedic biomaterials and drug delivery systems has been supported by federal (NIH), state and private foundations (e.g. Coulter Foundation, Komen Foundation). For her distinguished service and exceptional contributions to medical product standards writing within the American Society of Testing and Materials (ATSM), Dr. Kuhn been recognized with ASTM's top three awards, including, in 2014, the Award of Merit with an accompanying honorary title of Fellow. Learn more: http://kuhnbiomaterials.uconn.edu