Stem Cell Person of the Year: Michele DeLuca of Italy

An Italian scientist has been named Stem Cell Person of the Year for 2017 by The Niche, a stem cell blog produced by a California researcher.

Michele DeLuca, CMR photo

Paul Knoepfler of UC Davis announced the selection of Michele DeLuca on his blog last week.
Knoepfler wrote,

"I chose him because of his exceptional track record in stem cell and regenerative medicine science combined with a long record of advocating for responsible translational science."

The award carries of a cash prize of $2,000, which Knoepfler funds himself. The California stem cell scientist commented,

"Dr. De Luca also led an international team that recently published a groundbreaking paper on epidermal regeneration in a pediatric patient with epidermolysis bullosa. The new paper reported an innovative combination stem cell-gene therapy approach to this terrible disease. I reviewed the paper here in journal club style. The manuscript is an important starting point in new therapy development. It’s the kind of work that is very risky and needs to be done in a meticulous way. Dr. De Luca is one of the few people in the world who could have led this work."

Knoepfler is the sole arbiter on the award but does ask his readers to indicate their preference. In the case of DeLuca, he received 2.98 percent of votes cast. 

Knoepfler started the awards in 2012 with an initial prize of $1,000.

Balloting on Stem Cell Person of the Year: Cast Your Vote Now

The countdown has begun for selection of the Stem Cell Person of the Year. You can vote online for your preference at The Niche, a blog operated by UC Davis researcher Paul Knoepfler.

He has put together a list of 20 nominees ranging from a California state legislative aide to the CEO of the New York Stem Cell Foundation, Susan Solomon. Also included is a host of researchers, including Shoukhrat Mitalipov and Alexey Bersenev. The full list can be found here.

Knoepfler is the sole judge of the winner and personally provides a prize of $2,000.

The current voting, which ends Dec. 12, will whittle the list down to 10 from which Knoepfler will pick the winner. Earlier this month, he had this to say about the award,

"Unlike some other science awards out there that shall remain nameless, the Stem Cell Person of the Year prize is not an insider kind of thing, but more of an anti-old boy’s club award. It’s not about who you know, but what you do to help science, medicine, and other people."

Personally, I think the team at the California stem cell agency should be on the list. The folks, past and present, at the agency have labored mightily since 2004 to advance stem cell research. Sometimes the circumstances have been difficult and challenging, but the work continued nonetheless. Maybe next year, as they say in the sports world.

Scripps' Loring Picked as Stem Cell Person of the Year

Jeanne Loring (center with sunglasses) and her lab team at Scripps in La Jolla

Jeanne Loring, head of the stem cell program at the Scripps Research Institute, last week was named Stem Cell Person of the Year.

The award was made by UC Davis researcher Paul Knoepfler, who funds the $2,000 prize personally. Loring, however, has declined the cash, and Knoepfler is looking for a cause to donate the money to.

Writing on his blog, The Niche, Knoepfler said that overall Loring “has had a transformative,

positive impact at least in part via taking risks and thinking outside the box.”

Knoepfler said,

“Jeanne came out as the winner for her exceptional contributions in 2015 and throughout her many years in the field. She not only has made numerous advances scientifically, but also gone the extra mile in many respects as an advocate and educator.

“Her scientific contributions include outstanding research on human stem cells and in particular in stem cell epigenetics. See her publications on GoogleScholar.  She has been a great mentor to her trainees. You can visit her lab page here.

“She has also been a creative leader in producing IPS cells from endangered species, an area with huge potential ecologically and at a societal level in terms of preventing extinctions.

“Jeanne has mobilized patient advocates and catalyzed exciting work in the clinical pipeline in a number of areas including most prominently in the last few years for Parkinson’s Disease.”

As for the destination of the $2,000 award, Knoepfler wrote,

“I’m currently considering whether to donate the funds to a charity or put them towards a novel educational outreach project in the stem cell field.”

Semi-finalists Emerge for Stem Cell Person of the Year

The balloting for semi-finalists for the Stem Cell Person of the Year is now complete, and two persons tied to the California stem cell agency are among them.

Twelve persons in all made the cut with scientist Robert Lanza of Advanced Cell Technology receiving the most votes. Jeff Sheehy, a member of the governing board of the stem cell agency and an AIDS activist, and Pat Olson, executive scientific director of the agency, are also among the semi-finalists.

Now, however, it is not a matter of who receives the most support. Only one vote counts. And that belongs to Paul Knoepfler, the UC Davis stem cell researcher who originated the Person of the Year award last year. He runs it and personally awards the winner $1,000.

Knoepfler said he expects to announce the winner in a week or so. The names of all those being considered can be found on in this item on Knoepfler's blog, ipscell.com.

Stem Cell Person of the Year Award: Nominees Now Named

Voting is underway around the world for the semi-finalists for the Stem Cell Person of 2013 award, and one of the top staff members of the California stem cell agency is in the running.

She is Patricia Olson, executive director of scientific activities for the $3 billion California Institute for Regenerative Medicine(CIRM). Olson is the only member of the unique agency's staff to have been nominated for the award, which is made by UC Davis stem cell researcher Paul Knoepfler. The award carries a $1,000 prize that comes out of Knoepfler's pocket.

Olson's name caught my eye because in many ways she represents the entire, tiny staff of the nine-year-old agency. Only a little more than 50 people work at the San Francisco enterprise, which is an unusual combination of science, academia, business and government. In its early years, the number of employees was even smaller, less than it would take to staff your average Burger King. Yet, the agency has given out $1.9 billion, acted on thousands of grant applications and overseen 570 awards. More are to come.

From the agency's start, many worried that the size of the staff would not be adequate to keep up, a question that can still be raised justifiably. But the CIRM staff has forged on, scrutinizing grantee work with more care than the mighty NIH, as we have noted in the past.

Olson is one of the few longtime veterans of the agency, joining it in 2006. She has acquired a set of skills and institutional knowledge that has well-served both CIRM and the stem cell field. Like many of us, she has a bit of a sharp edge at times. But it is exercised all for the sake of focusing diligently on stem cell science and efficiently executing the agency's mission.

Only 12 semi-finalists will emerge from the current voting, which concludes Oct. 16. Many worthwhile candidates are on the list. But as a representative of the CIRM staff, a vote for Pat Olson could provide a big high-five for her and all the “stem cellists” at their King Street headquarters and all the work that they have done -- not only this year, but for the last nine years.

You can cast your votes by going to this page on Knoepfler's blog.

Roman Reed is Stem Cell Person of 2012; Leigh Turner Runner-up

Roman Reed, a Fremont, Ca., patient advocate, this week was named Stem Cell Person of 2012 by the Knoepfler Stem Cell Lab at UC Davis, which cited Reed for energizing a new generation of advocacy.

Roman Reed (left) and Paul Knoepfler
Knoepfler Lab photo

UC Davis stem cell scientist Paul Knoepfler awarded Reed $1,000 from his personal funds. The ceremonial check appears to be close to four-feet long in a photo taken in Knoepfler's lab.

Knoepfler wrote on his blog that Reed made a “tremendous difference” in 2012. The researcher said,

“One of the most notable was catalyzing the TJ Atchison Spinal Cord Injury Research Act in Alabama, which provides $400,000/year in funding for research. Of course, TJ and many others who helped make this possible also deserve great credit and have my admiration, but Roman provided key leadership. Here in California, Roman’s Law supported its 11th year of grants all eligible for all forms of stem cell research. Roman informs me that it funded $749,00 overall and approximately $200,000 in stem cell funding. 

“In addition, Roman in 2012 mentored and energized a whole new generation of advocacy from young, energetic leaders: TJ Atchison, Katie Sharify, Richard Lajara and Tory Minus.”

Knoepfler personally made the decision on the award, but also conducted an advisory poll that Reed won. Knoepfler wrote,

Leigh Turner
U of Minn photo

“Only 6% behind Roman was the amazing activist Ted Harada followed by Roman’s dad the remarkable Don Reed, the wonderful Judy Roberson, and the super Katie Sharify nearly all tied for third. Next after them was the relative new kid in stem cell town, Leigh Turner.”

Knoepfler named Turner, an associate professor at the Center for Bioethics at the University of Minnesota, as the official runner-up in the contest, No. 2 behind Reed. Knoepfler wrote,

“Leigh took the courageous, outside-the-box step in 2012 of contacting the FDA to investigate Celltex when he perceived patients could be at risk. As “thanks” for his action, he was put under enormous pressure and there was talk of possible litigation against him. Pressure was applied to his employer, the University of Minnesota. We’ll never know for sure, but from everything that I know I believe that Leigh’s actions directly led to prompt FDA action, which otherwise might not have happened at all or until much later. In my opinion, Leigh’s act of courage, helped make hundreds of patients safer in a direct way and indirectly may have set a higher standard for the field of stem cell treatments.”