Applying Computational Simulation to Solve the Counting Problem in Adult Stem Cell Biology
James L. Sherley, M.D., Ph.D
Director of Stem Cell Biotechnology at Asymmetrex, LLC., Boston, MA
Abstract:
Although adult tissue stem cells are essential for the maintenance, renewal, and repair of human organs and tissues, to date, the simple act of counting them has been impossible to achieve. For more than a half-century, progress in mammalian tissue stem cell research and medicine has been limited by the lack of a means to determine tissue stem cell number. This condition has persisted because of difficulty discovering molecular biomarkers that could identify tissue stem cells specifically, without also counting their more abundant committed progenitor progeny cells. Dr. Sherley will discuss his company's recent development of a general approach that integrates principles of tissue stem cell asymmetric self-renewal kinetics with computational simulation methods to achieve specific and accurate counting of tissue stem cells from many different human tissues.
Biographical Sketch:
James L. Sherley, M.D., Ph.D. is the founder and director of Massachusetts stem cell biotechnology company Asymmetrex, LLC. Asymmetrex develops and markets technologies for advancing stem cell medicine, including the first-in-kind technology for specific counting of adult tissue stem cells. This technology is also applied to design optimized procedures for more effective manufacturing of therapeutic adult tissue stem cells at greatly reduced cost. Dr. Sherley is a graduate of Harvard College, with a B.A. degree in biology, and the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, earning joint M.D. and Ph.D. degrees. Prior to founding Asymmetrex, he held academic research appointments at the Fox Chase Cancer Center, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, and Boston Biomedical Research Institute. Dr. Sherley’s professional awards include Pew Biomedical Research Scholar, Ellison Medical Foundation Senior Scholar in Aging Research, and NIH Director’s Pioneer Award.
Location:
University of Massachusetts Boston
Science Hall Second Floor Room 62
100 William T. Morrissey Boulevard
Boston, MA 02125
Directions and parking information can be found at: http://www.umb.edu/parking_transport/directions.html
Date and time:
Saturday, April 27, 2019
12:45 PM—2:30 PM