Director's Message | Spring 2023

"Alone we can do so little; together we can do so much." – Helen Keller

In this spirit, a group of us from the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center recently had the privilege and opportunity to help coordinate and participate in the first LA Area Regenerative Medicine Summit. Emerging from a shared conviction and with generous support from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), leaders from the stem cell programs in the greater LA region came together to share best practices, lessons learned, and recent advances.

Eight institutions were represented – UCLA, USC, Cedars-Sinai, Caltech, UC Irvine, UC Riverside, City of Hope, and UC Santa Barbara. The Summit was held at the UCLA Lake Arrowhead Lodge. Situated in the mountains less than a two-hour drive from LA and surrounded by peace and tranquility and adjacent to a spectacular mountain lake, it proved to be the perfect venue to reflect, engage, and plan for the future.

Now that we have returned to our respective institutions, what are we building to accelerate stem cell research and the development of therapeutics in the greater LA area? Already subgroups have connected to address access to shared core facilities, challenges of good manufacturing practices, and goals for diversity and inclusion in terms of both patients served and workforce. The leaders of education programs that provide training to scientists at all levels – from high school students to early career MD-PhDs – are coordinating to expand outreach. Plans are also underway to connect and retain the talent that emerges from these programs with opportunities in biotechnology and both basic and clinical research throughout the region. 

These are just a few examples of what joining forces will accomplish. As the saying goes: A rising tide lifts all boats. And the Summit is just the latest example of coordinated efforts across the LA Basin. For example, USC, Caltech, and UCLA are collaborating to submit a proposal to the Chan Zuckerberg Foundation to fund a tri-institutional research initiative with a central focus on stem cell biology and engineering. This May, the annual event LABEST (LA Bioscience Ecosystem Summit Twenty23) was hosted at UCLA by the UCLA Technology Development Group and convened researchers, investors, and industry representatives from the area, including all of the educational institutions represented at the Regenerative Medicine Summit and more. This year’s LABEST boasted the largest attendance ever, and included sessions coordinated by the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center to highlight the remarkable Center successes in the areas of novel therapeutics and entrepreneurship.

We are already planning and looking forward to the second annual LA Area Regenerative Medicine Summit. Inspired by the success of the responses to the COVID pandemic that resulted from new collaborations and exceeded all expectations, we will continue to direct energies to partnerships across the LA region that will accelerate our shared mission of developing new therapies for a wide range of currently incurable and even untreatable diseases and disorders to create a healthier tomorrow.

Thomas Rando, MD, PhD
Director, UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center
Professor of Neurology and Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology