Stem cell summit planned for NSW

A Sydney workshop to showcase the latest research involving stem cells has been set down for June 4.

The workshop, hosted by the NSW Stem Cell Network and Prof Bernie Tuch's team at Prince of Wales Hospital, will feature some of Australia's best researchers in the field. Also speaking will be National Stem Cell Centre COO Dr Dianna DeVore, and a political perspective will be provided by Australian Democrats Senator Natasha Stott Despoja.

The program will include presentations by:

• Prof Peter Rathjen, University of Adelaide (directed differentiation of ES cells: therapeutic implications)
• Prof Phil Waite, UNSW (transplant of olfactory cells in spinal cord injury)
• Dr Robert Nordon, Biomedical Engineering, UNSW (development of a perfusion bioreactor for cell therapy applications)
• Prof Peter Gray, Bioengineering Centre, UNSW (proteomics, recombinant proteins and stem cells)
• Assoc Prof Martin Pera, Monash Institute of Reproduction and Development (potential clinical applications of stem cells for neurological disorders)
• Dr Teija Peura, Sydney IVF (IVF and Embryonic stem cell research)
• Dr Clive Morris, NHMRC (Current guidelines for human embryonic stem cell research)
• Senator Natasha Stott Despoja, Australian Democrats (the politics of stem cells)
• Dr Dianna DeVore, The National Stem Cell Centre (what's happening in Australia?)