PRESS RELEASES

6 April 2009

The annual Dame Anne McLaren Memorial Lecture 2009 - Professor Janet Rossant

Professor Janet Rossant, one of the world’s foremost developmental biologists from The Hospital for Sick Children in Toronto, will deliver the second annual Dame Anne McLaren Memorial Lecture later today (6 April).

The Lecture is the keynote talk at the UK National Stem Cell Network Annual Conference.

Commenting on giving the 2009 Dame Anne McLaren memorial lecture, Professor Janet Rossant said:

"This is a great opportunity to speak on a platform that is close to my heart. Anne was a close friend and mentor to me and I am truly honoured to be giving this lecture in her memory. We both worked on mammalian reproduction and development and the work I will be presenting at the conference represents a few more pieces of the puzzle.

"To become an embryonic stem cell, a cell has to be in the right place relative to the rest of the cells of the early embryo, or blastocyst. It also has to be programmed to make embryonic cell types and not the cell of the plancenta. We have been studying embryos and embryonic stem cells in mice and now have an up-to-date model for blastocyst formation. This describes how the precise organisation of just 100 or so cells determines embryo versus placental fate in the developing mouse."

Over several decades, Prof Rossant has been a pioneer in research to understand the basis of early embryo development and the origin of stem cells. Working on the mouse model to understand early human development, her work involves investigating the genetic controls that drive normal and abnormal early embryo development. This research is vital to both understand and ultimately treat a range of diseases that affect the embryo and also to better understand the origin of stem cells. During her work Prof Rossant discovered a different type of stem cell not seen by anyone before – a trophoblast stem cell, found in the placenta.

The annual memorial lecture honours the memory of Dame Anne McLaren FRS, herself a highly respected early pioneer of the study of embryonic germ cells. Dr McLaren’s research directly contributed to the development of IVF treatments and stem cell techniques. Recognising her unique contribution to UK science during her lifetime, the UKNSCN invites a prominent female stem cell scientist to deliver the memorial lecture each year at its national conference.

Professor Rossant will be speaking at 1730 on Monday 06 April 2009 at the UK National Stem Cell Network Annual Science Conference. The conference takes place in Oxford from 06 to 08 April at the University of Oxford Examination Schools.

ENDS

Contact

UKNSCN Media Relations
Matt Goode, Tel: 01793 413299, Mobile: 07766 423 372, e-mail: matt.goode@bbsrc.ac.uk (Direct)
Nancy Mendoza, Tel: 01793 413355, Mobile: 07785 710 536, e-mail: nancy.mendoza@bbsrc.ac.uk (Direct)
Press Office e-mail: ukpo@uknscn.org

Notes to editors

To arrange an interview with Prof Rossant please contact UKNSCN Media Relations.

About UKNSCN Annual Conference

The UKNSCN Conference is being held in Oxford at the Examination Schools, 6-8 April 2009. The Conference is the UK’s premier stem cell research conference. It is the only conference to bring together all branches of stem cell science – developmental biology, tissue engineering, clinical, social science and industry and to encompass all techniques, iPS, embryonic and adult.

About UKNSCN

The UK National Stem Cell Network acts as a network of the existing regional stem cell networks in the UK, to bring coordination and coherence to a range of national and regional activities in the field of stem cell research.

The UKNSCN secretariat receives financial support from four of the UK Research Councils:

• Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council (BBSRC)
• Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC)
• Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC)
• Medical Research Council (MRC)

The Network represents the UK stem cell research community and is run through an independent Steering Committee. Initially, the secretariat is operated by BBSRC on behalf of all the Government sponsors of stem cell research, including the Research Councils, the Department of Health and the Department for Innovation, Universities and Skills.