Cell Based Approaches to Treating Parkinson's Disease
Channel: HMS Center for Bioethics
Date: 2021-03-01

Ethics in Research and Biotechnology, October 16, 2020
Presented by Lorenz Studer, MD and Insoo Hyun, PhD
Moderated by Kristina Larson, JD, MBE '22, and Ashley Trautmann

Lorenz Studer's lab has worked for over a decade on developing a cell therapy for Parkinson's disease (PD). Recently Dr. Studer has demonstrated that lab-grown dopamine nerve cells derived from human stem cells can efficiently engraft and function in animal models of PD. Based on these results, the Studer lab is pursuing the development of a clinical-grade dopamine neuron cell product and is in the process of generating the data necessary for an investigational new drug application from the FDA, which is required for the first human clinical use of human ESC-derived dopamine neurons.

This consortium will examine the major milestones of Dr. Studer's work as he advances his promising cell-based approach to treating Parkinson's disease, from preclinical studies to clinical trials. Together, Dr. Insoo Hyun and Dr. Studer will discuss the ethical issues that track alongside this exciting scientific journey to the clinic and will invite the audience to participate in interactive discussion.

Learn more about the Harvard Medical School Center for Bioethics at https://bioethics.hms.harvard.edu/