April 23 at 3 pm via Zoom | Developing Clinical-Grade Human iPSCs for Autologous Midbrain Dopaminergic Cell Therapy in Parkinson's Disease
Register for the Neurocardiovascular Seminar Series
Wednesday, April 23 at 3 pm via Zoom | Presented by Young Cha, PhD
Young Cha, PhD
Assistant Neuroscientist, Basic Neuroscience Division Assistant Professor of Psychiatry
Harvard Medical School
Dr. Cha will present:
DEVELOPING CLINICAL-GRADE HUMAN iPSCs FOR AUTOLOGOUS MIDBRAIN DOPAMINERGIC CELL THERAPY IN PARKINSON'S DISEASE
ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Young Cha, PhD, is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Psychiatry at McLean Hospital and Harvard Medical School (HMS). He earned his doctoral degree in Molecular Genetics from CHA University in South Korea. After completing postdoctoral training under the mentorship of Professor Kwang-Soo Kim at McLean Hospital and HMS, Dr. Cha, advanced to a senior research staff position in Prof. Kim’s laboratory.
Dr. Cha’s research centers on uncovering the molecular mechanisms that drive somatic cell reprogramming and the generation of clinical-grade human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs). His groundbreaking work identified the miR-200c-SIRT2 axis as a critical regulator of the glycolytic switch and mitochondrial remodeling – key processes for generating high-quality hiPSCs. Building on these insights, he developed an innovative and highly efficient reprogramming method that integrates Yamanaka’s four factors with metabolism-modulating microRNAs.
Dr. Cha has also made significant contributions to advancing autologous iPSC-based cell replacement therapies for Parkinson’s disease. His current efforts are dedicated to optimizing the differentiation of hiPSCs into midbrain dopaminergic (mDA) cells, with the goal of developing a chemically defined differentiation protocol that ensures consistent, clinically viable mDA cells with less variability, improved efficiency, and cost-effectiveness.