Some of our board members are actively involved in stem cell researches. Two of the labs are highlighted below.
Dr. Linzhao Cheng is a Professor of Medicine and Oncology, and a founding member of Stem Cell Program in the Johns Hopkins Institute for Cell Engineering, Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM). He is also the Associate Director for Basic Research in the Division of Hematology, and Lucas and Lynn Chair in Hematology in JHUSOM. He received his BS degree from University of Science and Technology of China (USTC) in 1985, and his PhD degree in Molecular Biology and Genetics from JHUSOM in 1991. Since then, he has been working on stem cell research in NIH, two biotech companies (Systemix Inc. in Palo Alto, CA; Osiris Therapeutics in Baltimore, MD) and JHUSOM (since 1999). He was a recipient of USA Presidential Early Career Award for Scientists and Engineers (PECASE, 2003). In 2012, Dr. Cheng was elected as a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Sciences (AAAS). As an overseas Chinese, he received an award in 2004 from China’s NSFC to promote international collaborations. Dr. Cheng serves as an editorial board member for several professional journals including Cell Research (China), Stem Cells (USA), Regenerative Medicine (UK), Frontier of Medicine (China), Science China-Life Sciences. He served as a member of the International Affairs Committee for the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) from 2005 to 2013, and served frequently as a reviewer/adviser for granting agencies worldwide. He is currently a member in the advisory and review panel for the national priority initiative on stem cells and regenerative medicine in China. In addition, Dr. Cheng is the current President of Chinese Stem Cell Foundation, a non-profit and non-political professional organization registered in CA, USA. In December 2016, he was elected as President (2018-2019) of the Hematology Division affiliated with the Society of Chinese Biologists in America (SCBA). He also serves as a member in scientific advisory boards of several biotech companies.
Dr. Cheng’s recent work has been on human cell engineering by cellular fate reprogramming (such as iPSC derivation and uses) and genome editing. His current research is focusing on using human stem cells for human biology and engineering including cell and gene therapies, especially for the blood and vascular systems. See details of his scientific publications (>100 papers peer reviewed; cited for >20,000 times with an H-index = 58) in: https://scholar.google.com/citations?user=73kyBr0AAAAJ&hl=en&oi=ao http://www.stemcelllab.org http://www.hopkinsmedicine.org/hematology
The Fan lab current focuses on the actions of DNA methylation and chromatin-remodeling in regulating neural gene expression, neuronal function, and stem cell differentiation and reprogramming. More details are available at: https://labs.genetics.ucla.edu/fan/index.htm