Amander Clark to start as president of International Society for Stem Cell Research

Amander Clark, professor of molecular, cell and developmental biology in the UCLA College, will assume her post as president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, the largest professional organization of stem cell scientists from around the world, on July 1.

Clark, who has been a member of the organization for nearly 20 years, pledged to foster public trust in science and focus on the translation of lab-based discoveries into therapies during the course of her presidency.

“I will work to ensure that the Society continues to defend stem cell science and the researchers working to transform lives,” she said at the 2023 ISSCR Annual Meeting in Boston this June. “We will expand our engagement with the public in order to demystify how science becomes medicine and commit to improving equity, global access and affordability of proven stem cell treatments.”

Clark is an internationally recognized leader in stem cell biology whose research focuses on germline cells, which are the cells that create eggs and sperm. Results from her research could lead to new methods for reproductive care to treat infertility, a global health issue that affects approximately 1 in 6 adults worldwide.

She is a member of the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine’s Board on Health Sciences Policy. Her honors include the Founders Medal from the Australian and New Zealand Society for Reproductive Biology, a Young Investigator Award from the Society, the Lance Armstrong Foundation and the Concern Foundation, as well as a Career Development Award from STOP Cancer.

Raised on a rural sheep farm in Victoria, Australia, Clark was the first in her family to earn a college degree. She went on to earn a doctorate in cell and developmental biology at the University of Melbourne and completed postdoctoral fellowships at Baylor College of Medicine and UC San Francisco. In 2006, she joined the UCLA faculty and became a key member of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research. She also serves as the inaugural director of the UCLA Center for Reproductive Science, Health and Education.