Jerome Zack, associate director of the UCLA AIDS Institue, has spent the last few years researching HIV/AIDS and how it might be treated through the use of embryonic stem cell therapy.
Zack said he plans to share his research results with faculty specializing in stem cell research at universities across North America during a developmental biology and stem cells conference on campus today.
The conference, which is hosted by the UCLA Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine, features eight speakers from seven different universities, including Harvard and Princeton, and is scheduled to run throughout the day in the De Neve Auditorium.
Each speaker will give a 30-minute plenary talk discussing aspects of stem cell research ranging from stem cell development to clinical work, Zack said.
Steven Peckman, associate director for administration and planning at the institute, said the conference features important figures in the field.
“This is a scientific conference with some of the leading researchers in North America whose work is devoted to developmental biology and stem cell research,” Peckman said.
Utpal Banerjee, a co-organizer of the conference, said he expects about 350 attendees, including a variety of students and faculty.
“I have a group of undergraduates that do research that will be attending,” Banerjee added.
Banerjee, the chairman of the UCLA Department of Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology, said he has been researching stem cell material in fruit flies and plans to present the results at the conference.
Speakers will each share specific research results in their fields.
The event will be followed by a poster session in which attendees can informally debate the research presented.
“(The conference) is built to give information to people that’s cutting-edge,” Zack said, adding that such discussion was important for creating breakthroughs in research.
“We have to understand all aspects of these cells in order to make cures a reality.”
Zack also said such conferences can encourage collaborations among scientists who otherwise might not have met.
In his talk, Zack plans to present research in which he attempts to convert embryonic stem cells into blood cells, which could be used to modify the human immune system.
Zack said he hopes this research might help fight viruses such as HIV that are currently impervious to treatment.
Admission to the conference is free, but Peckman said prior online registration by Thursday is required.
He also said the conference was currently at capacity, but some people may be able to get in at the door without registering in advance.