A Patient’s Story
Mrs. A. had lymph node cancer. The doctors told the young woman and mother that she had only a few weeks to live – when a stem cell donor was found. Eight years later, she talks about the life-saving intervention.

Discussion with three pioneers of stem cell research:
• Prof. Dr. Anthony D. Ho, medical director of the Medical Clinic V at the Heidelberg University Hospital, treats patients suffering from leukaemia with blood stem cells by bone-marrow transplantations. He talks about his research area and the clinical implementation of therapies.

• Prof. Dr. Andreas Trumpp, president of the German Stem Cell Network (GSCN), head of the Stem Cells and Cancer department at the German Cancer Research Center (DKFZ), and managing director of the Heidelberg Institute for Stem Cell Technology and Experimental Medicine (HI-STEM), studies cancer stem cells to better understand the causes and course of cancers.

• Prof. Dr. Magdalena Götz, director of the Institute of Stem Cell Research at the Helmholtz Center in Munich and head of the Physiological Genomics department at the University of Munich, explains how she wants to reprogram cells into neurons in the diseased brain.

The Schering Stiftung supports the event, since it presents and discusses current research with an interested public and enhances the understanding of scientific research. The dialogue with the public is also of particular concern to the German Stem Cell Network. “We reach out to the wider public, since we want to inform about both the current state and the diversity of stem cell research. Our research areas relate to many widespread diseases, and we are driven by the idea that our findings will make it possible to develop successful therapies in the future,” says Daniel Besser, managing director of the GSCN.

The discussion is the concluding event of the three-day International Annual Conference of the German Stem Cell Network. On November 3–5, 2014, more than 400 stem cell researchers will meet in Heidelberg to share and present their latest findings. The annual conference brings together the large community of stem cell researchers in Germany.

Further Information

Stefanie Mahler, Coordinator Communication at the GSCN:
stefanie.mahler@mdc-berlin.de