The biotech company Stemgent announced today that it has pledged a financial gift to the Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) for its 2009-2010 Seminar Series.
According to Ian Ratcliffe, president and CEO of Stemgent, "We’re pleased to be able to fund this prestigious seminar series and we’re very proud of our ongoing relationshipwith HSCI through our Scientific Advisory Board which includes Harvard’s Lee Rubin and Doug Melton. HSCI has a top-notch research team, displays a global scientific acumen and it’s always a great pleasure to work with them."
As Brock Reeve, executive director of HSCI, adds, "The HSCI Seminar Series is focused on enabling scientific interchange among experts in the stem cell field from around the world. HSCI is very pleased that Stemgent, a company focused on addressing the needs of stem cell scientists, has agreed to partner with us by supporting this series."
Founded in 2004, the HSCI consists of 72 principal faculty and 146 affiliate faculty, thereby constituting the world’s largest organization of stem cell researchers. The HSCI describes itself as "a scientific collaborative that brings together researchers from across Harvard’s many affiliated hospitals, institutes and schools."
The HSCI further describes its seminar series as "an educational program for the stem cell science community in which pioneers in the national and international realm of stem cell research, including many from the Harvard-affiliated senior faculty, present contemporary stem cell topics. Speakers are nominated by HSCI faculty and selected by the HSCI."
With dual headquarters in San Diego and Boston, Stemgent is focused on the commercialization of proprietary reagents and other tools that have been optimized for stem cell research, including transfection reagents, viral-delivered transcription factors, cytokines, antibodies and cell lines, among other small-molecule products.
The precise financial terms of the sponsorship were not disclosed.
