UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MANOA OUTREACH COLLEGE
Community Services Division
Embryonic Stem Cells and their Potential Use in Medicine
Info: Jun 25 • Wed • 7:00pm • Yukiyoshi Room, Krauss Hall 012 • Free • For more information, call 956-8246.
We often hear from the news and magazines that embryonic stem cells promise medical treatments, which could ease or even cure Parkinson`s and Alzheimer`s diseases, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, heart conditions, and spinal injury. But, is this going to happen in a few years? Or, is this just too good to be true? What about its safety? Are there any ethical problems? In light of recent rapid progress in stem cell research, it is critical to sort out what are the facts and what are the hypes. The objective of this seminar is to cover the basics of embryonic stem cells in layman`s language, and future possibilities and unresolved issues regarding their medical applications.
The speaker, Dr. Yusuke Marikawa, is an Assistant Professor at the Institute for Biogenesis Research (IBR) at the University of Hawaii John A. Burns School of Medicine. He received his Ph.D. (Developmental Biology) in 1995 at the Kyoto University, Japan, and conducted his post-doctoral research at the University of Toronto, Canada, until 2000. Afterwards, he joined IBR, which was founded by Professor Ryuzo Yanagimachi, a leading expert in reproductive biology and cloning research. Dr. Marikawa currently conducts his research at the Kaka`ako Medical School building to elucidate the molecular mechanisms of cell differentiation and body patterning in mammalian embryos.