Neural Stem Cell Institute

11/07/2025

Early results from our sponsored by Luxa Biotechnology and the National Eye Institute are out in . The Phase 1/2a trial uses an adult RPE stem cell-derived cell replacement therapy for dry age-related .

Beautiful original artwork was created for the cover by Dr. Yangzi Isabel Tian.

Cover | https://zurl.co/5c1Xe
Full Text | https://zurl.co/gQ2bq
Cell Press

10/31/2025

Have a safe and happy Halloween!

10/29/2025

Tune into live audio sessions with vision experts discussing macular degeneration care, treatment, and patient questions.

10/24/2025

Stem cell research is opening new doors for treating age-related (AMD), a leading cause of vision loss.

Join our co-founders, Drs. Jeffrey Stern and Sally Temple on BrightFocus Foundation's Macular Chat on Wed, Oct 29. They'll break down the science, share clinical trial updates, and explain what these advances mean for people living with AMD.

Register today and ask your questions live: https://zurl.co/5PL54

09/26/2025

A great piece by our friends at Michigan Medicine! We are grateful to have our first clinical trial in the skilled hands of Drs. Rajesh Rao of Kellogg Eye Center, David Liao of LA Retina and Theodore Leng of Stanford Medicine.

Article | https://zurl.co/0eUMo

Researchers used retinal pigment epithelial stem cells derived from adult postmortem eye tissue in a phase 1/2a clinical trial. This is the first treatment to show promise for age-related macular degeneration or AMD.

09/19/2025

Science fun on this beautiful Friday in Albany! The Capital District Postdoc Association held their annual symposium at the University at Albany, SUNY. NSCI was well represented by CDPA president Sol Toruella, presenters Runia Roy & Catherine Hamann, and new postdocs Jenica Acheta & Alexis Guevara!

09/18/2025

Big news! Early results from Cohort 1 of our Luxa Biotechnology-sponsored and clinical trial are now available online at Cell Stem Cell! This first-in-human Phase 1/2a trial led by study PI Jeffrey Stern seeks to evaluate the safety and tolerability of adult RPE stem cell-derived RPE for treatment of dry age-related macular degeneration.

Dr. Rajesh Rao and the terrific team at the University of Michigan Kellogg Eye Center performed each surgery and conducted clinical assessments.

- with Brigitte Arduini, Susan Borden, Dhruv Sareen, Clive Svendsen, Paul Lee, Charles Ryan, Shilpa Kodati, Caroline Nyaiburi, Keith Wolsieffer, Eric Oh, Shuna Park, Glenna Ford, Keith Dionne and Sally Temple

Open Access Full Text | https://zurl.co/piAT4

Cedars-Sinai Biomanucturing Center
Cell Press
National Eye Institute

09/04/2025

Available now at Stem Cell Reports: Our study led by Farhad Farjood, Nathan Boles and Jeffrey Stern reveals the surprising heterogeneity of retinal pigment epithelium (RPE) cells in the human eye using single cell transcriptomics and proteomics. Using the cell surface proteins identified with BioLegend's CITE-seq panel, we describe unique spatial patterns that suggest functional differences for RPE subpopulations in the eye.

- with Swapna Nandakumar, Taylor Bertucci, Thomas Kiehl, Steven Lotz, Yue (Jenny) Wang, Jacob Black, Skanda Sai, Jade Kozak, Brigitte Arduini and Sally Temple

This work was supported by the National Eye Institute and Luxa Biotechnology LLC.

Full text | https://zurl.co/4hwI6
International Society for Stem Cell Research

Cell Press

Farjood et al. has set the stage for characterizing RPE heterogeneity by using single-cell sequencing technology to identify cell surface markers compatible with isolating each subpopulation for further study. Using these markers, select RPE subpopulations are shown to have unique localization withi...