Utilizing differentiated cells from iPSCs to build human relevant 3D models for drug discovery
February 2, 2023 (noon-1pm)
Koch Institute Luria Auditorium
FUJIFILM Cellular Dynamics (FCDI) is an early pioneer in the commercialization of human iPSC-derived cells and developers of the manufacturing technology that enabled scale-up and now GMP-production of these cells.
This lunch seminar on Feb 2 at noon (Luria Auditorium) will highlight some of the advances FCDI has made in establishing reliable iPSC cell banks and using that material to produce a wide range of high-value, robust, differentiated cells used for drug discovery. Using these cells, FCDI can build highly relevant 3D model systems to replicate human tissue and improve the efficacy of drug discovery. Specifically, they will highlight three areas: 1) the development of a fully-humanized blood brain barrier model containing BMEC, pericyte and astrocyte cells all derived from iPSC 2) combining iPSC-derived neurons and glia in 3D NeuroSpheres to create models of different regions of the brain 3) a cardiac model system that creates highly relevant and mature cardiac test models with cardiomyocytes, cardiac fibroblasts and endothelial cells, all again derived from iPSC.
Dr. Keith R. Olson, Senior Vice President, Commercial Operations
Keith Olson is the senior commercial leader for Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics, where we have developed the market-leading portfolio of differentiated human cells derived from iPSC. Keith has previously served in leadership roles for Life Science products at Corning Inc, Life Technologies, DiscoveRx and Cellomics, and has launched over 700 Life Science products in his career. Keith received his bachelor’s degree in Molecular Cell Biology from Carnegie-Mellon University and his Ph.D. in the same from the University of Rochester.
Dr. Coby Carlson, Director of Applications Development
Coby Carlson is the Director of Applications Development at Fujifilm Cellular Dynamics where his team focuses on advancing the use of human iPSC-derived cell types for drug screening, toxicity testing, and disease modeling. He joined the company in 2012 and has extensive experience developing applications with iCell products, characterizing their functional performance on various technology platforms, and building co-culture systems in both 2D and 3D format. Coby received his PhD from the Univ. of Utah followed by a postdoctoral fellowship at UW-Madison.