[4][2] Science later featured induced pluripotent stem cells in its “Scientific Breakthrough of the Year” article, 2008. Universities and medical institutions today have well-established centers, such as the UW–Madison Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, to help bring researchers and resources together to advance the field and educate the next generation of stem cell scientists, doctors, educators, business people and policy makers.
James Alexander Thomson, affectionately known as Jamie Thomson, is an American developmental biologist whose pioneering work in isolating and culturing non-human primate and human embryonic stem cells has made him one of the most prominent scientists in stem cell research. Yu P, Pan G, Yu J, Thomson JA. FGF2 sustains NANOG and switches BMP4 induced human ES cell differentiation from trophoblast to mesendoderm. 2009 May 7;459:108-112. Lister R, Pelizzola M, Dowen R, Hawkins RD, Hon G, Tonti-Filippini J, Nery J, Lee L, Ye Z, Ngo Q, Edsall L, Antosiewicz-Bourget J, Stewart R, Ruotti V, Millar AH, Thomson JA, Ren B, Ecker J. This company has been using pluripotent stem cells in drug screening and development as well as personalized medical applications via such developments as a bank for individual stem cell lines. After many months of painstaking work, he succeeded in isolating the rhesus monkey embryonic stem cells in 1995. Thomson, though disappointed that the Bush edict restricted the creation of new cell lines, was generally pleased that his research could go forward. Dr. Thomson has conducted pioneering work in the isolation and culture of non-human primate and human embryonic stem cells—undifferentiated cells that can proliferate without limit and have the ability to become any of the differentiated cells of the body. Wisconsin National Primate Research Center, Celebrating 25 years of embryonic stem cell research at UW–Madison, UW–Madison Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center, A starring role for nonhuman primates in the stem cell story, UW–Madison News, Stem Cells at 20, Morgridge Institute for Research. iPS cells have the basic properties of human ES cells but … Dr. Thomson’s Regenerative Biology at Morgridge webpage Dr. Thomson is the Director of Regenerative Biology, Morgridge Institute for Research / Professor of Cell and Regenerative Biology (UW) / Professor, Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology … In 1998 he successfully isolated stem cells from a human embryo, almost simultaneously with researchers at Johns Hopkins University. He was appointed director of regenerative biology at the Morgridge Institute for Research in Madison, Wis., in 2008. Corrections?
Wistar Institute in Philadelphia under the supervision of Thomson grew up in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park. In 1991 Thomson moved to the University of Wisconsin, where he continued his research at the Wisconsin Regional Primate Centre. Studying mice and monkeys allowed Thomson to gain an understanding of mammalian embryo development, but his chief curiosity was human embryo development. Stem cell research is helping animals, too. Thomson then completed a postdoctoral fellowship at the Oregon Regional Primate Center (1989–91). in biophysics from the University of Illinois in 1981, a doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1985, and a doctorate in molecular biology in 1988 from the University of Pennsylvania. He received venture capital from the Wisconsin-based Tactics II Ventures, to start this firm with the intention of applying his research in pluripotent stem cells to the medical field. The paper, “Isolation of a Primate Embryonic Stem Cell Line,” appeared in the August 1995 issue of the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America. His specific research interests include: Examining the transcriptional networks in ES cells that mediate self-renewal and commitment to each of the basic lineages of the early embryo; mapping the epigenome of ES cells and their early-differentiated derivatives as a participant in the San Diego Epigenome Center; improving methods for generating human iPS cells, and correcting genetic defects in iPS cells generated from patients with degenerative retinal disease; developing new strategies to convert human pluripotent stem and somatic cells into hematopoietic, vascular, and cardiac progenitor cells; and understanding clocking mechanisms that control developmental rates. Genetic correction and analysis of induced pluripotent stem cells from a patient with gyrate atrophy. James A. Thomson. rhesus monkeys , leading to the publication of the first paper on deriving primate embryonic stem cells.
While growing up in Oak Park, Illinois, Thomson… Awarded "Scientific Breakthrough of the Year" by Science magazine, this groundbreaking discovery not only has the potential to end the ethical controversy that has surrounded stem cell research, but it is also a significant step toward treating diseases with a patient's own cells. In fact, he believes that iPS cells provide a whole realm of possibilities due to the relative ease of creating and cultivating iPS cells compared to pluripotent stem cells derived from embryos, which may be difficult to obtain. Just as Thomson predicted in the 1990s, nonhuman primates, which were instrumental to basic stem cell research 25 years ago, are now in demand for a wealth of preclinical studies necessary before human clinical trials can begin.
mouse embryonic stem cells and eventually moved to experimenting with Thomson was appointed scientific director of the WiCell Research Institute, affiliated with the University of Wisconsin, in 1999. Thomson is a member of the National Academy of Sciences … [5], Thomson graduated with a B.S. While growing up in Oak Park, Illinois, Thomson’s rocket-scientist uncle inspired him to pursue science as a career. Wisconsin Regional Primate Center (WRPC) at the University of Wisconsin-Madison . Golden, Frederic, and Dick Thompson. His doctoral thesis involved understanding genetic imprinting in early mammalian development under the mentorship of Davor Solter at the Wistar Institute. After consulting with several bioethicists at the university, Thomson decided that continued research was ethical as long as the embryos, created by couples who no longer wanted them in order to have children, would otherwise be destroyed. "Induced Pluripotent Stem Cell Lines Derived from Human Somatic Cells." By isolating pluripotent stem cells, which have the ability to differentiate into any of the 200+ cell types in the body, Thomson paved the way for increased research into human cellular development, drug research, and transplantation medicine.
Undifferentiated cells with remarkable potential, embryonic stem cells can both proliferate without limit and become any of the differentiated cells of the body.
Geron Corporation, a biotech firm headquartered in Menlo Park, California. Be on the lookout for your Britannica newsletter to get trusted stories delivered right to your inbox. David Solter.
2007 was also the year that Thomson became an adjunct professor at the University of California, Santa Barbara (UCSB). My research focuses on understanding how a cell can maintain or change identity, how a cell chooses between self-renewal and the initial decision to differentiate, and how a differentiated cell with limited developmental potential can be reprogrammed to a pluripotent cell. Thomson grew up in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park. Chen G, Gulbranson D, Hou Z, Bolin J, Probasco MD, Smuga-Otto K, Howden S, Diol N, Propson NE, Wagner R, Lee GO, Antosiewicz-Bourget J, Teng JMC, Thomson JA. It was during his graduate years that Thomson began working with embryonic stem cells. His doctoral research focused on genetic imprinting in early mammalian development, was conducted at the In 2007, Dr. Thomson's lab reported (contemporaneously with Dr. Shinya Yamanaka) the first isolation of human induced pluripotent (iPS) stem cells. University of Pennsylvania where he earned two doctorate degrees: one in veterinary medicine, completed in 1985, and the other in molecular biology, completed in 1988. In 2007, Dr. Thomson's lab reported (contemporaneously with Dr. Shinya Yamanaka) the first isolation of human induced pluripotent (iPS) stem cells. Let us know if you have suggestions to improve this article (requires login). After completing his graduate studies, Thomson joined the Oregon Regional Primate Center as a postdoctoral research fellow for two years. Nature.
In 1998, Dr. Thomson became the first person to derive human embryonic stem (ES) cells. Thomson not only testified before the U.S. Senate on the value of such research, but was also the lead plaintiff in As a research tool, the human embryonic stem (ES) cell is broadly enabling, allowing unprecedented access to the cellular components of the human body, with applications in basic research, drug discovery and transplantation medicine. "Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells Free of Vector and Transgene Sequences."
That same year he was appointed chief pathologist of the primate centre. Yu J, Vodyanik M, Smuga-Otto K, Frane J, Antosiewicz-Bourget J, Frane J, Tian S, Nie J, Jonsdottir GA, Ruotti V, Stewart R, Slukvin II, Thomson JA. As a research tool, human embryonic cells … Ebert AD, Yu J, Rose FF, Mattis VB, Lorson CL, Thomson JA, Svendsen CN. Co-Director . George W. Bush announced in August 2001 that the federal government would only support research on the 64 existing lines (self-sustaining colonies) of human embryonic stem cells, the National Institutes of Health, the agency responsible for implementing the decision, was forced to negotiate with the foundation in order to gain access to the stem cells. “Cellular Dynamics International Appoints New Commercial, Operations and Financial Leadership.” News.
By Jordana Lenon Nov. 6, 2020 It’s been 25 years since University of Wisconsin–Madison scientist James Thomson became the first in the world to successfully isolate and culture primate embryonic stem cells. they are what other cells 'stem' from] can divide without limit, and yet maintain the potential to make all the cells of the body. Among those honors, he was featured in Science’s “1999 Scientific Breakthrough of the Year,” won the 1999 Gold Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement, and received the 2002 Lois Pope Annual LIFE International Research Award . iPS cells have the basic properties of human ES cells but are derived from somatic cells rather than human embryos. The Christopher Columbus Foundation awarded him the Frank Annunzio Award (Science/Technology) in 2003. He continued his education and research at the University of Pennsylvania, where he gained a doctorate in veterinary medicine in 1985 and a doctorate in molecular biology in 1988. [13] In 2011, Thomson was co-recipient, with Dr. Shinya Yamanaka, of the King Faisal International Prize and the Albany Medical Center Prize. This led to his human embryonic stem cell discovery in 1998. This article was most recently revised and updated by, https://www.britannica.com/biography/James-Thomson-American-biologist, The Embryo Project Encyclopedia - Biography of James Alexander Thomson. However, unlike Thomson, Gearhart derived the embryonic stem cells from He is Director of … During his graduate studies, Thomson first worked with It was in these first few years at the WRPC that Thomson worked with Only licensed physicians with patients under their direct care should be recommending any stem cell therapy or other medical treatment. John D. Gearhart at Johns Hopkins University also published a paper,
Born on 20 December 1958, Thomson entered the nearby
Thomson’s 1995 breakthrough, however, placed human embryonic stem cells at the new frontier. My current research interests include: Examining the transcriptional networks in ES cells that mediate self-renewal and commitment to each of the basic lineages of the early embryo; mapping the epigenome of ES cells and their early-differentiated derivatives as a participant in the San Diego Epigenome Center; improving methods for generating human iPS cells, and correcting genetic defects in iPS cells generated from patients with degenerative retinal disease; developing new strategies to convert human pluripotent stem and somatic cells into hematopoietic, vascular, and cardiac progenitor cells; and understanding clocking mechanisms that control developmental rates.