image: Peter W. Andrews and Tenneille E. Ludwig earn the 2024 ISSCR Public Service Award for thier leadership of the ISSCR Standards Initiative, which establishes best practices and reporting recommendations for pluripotent and adult stem cell research to improve the rigor and reproducibility of all research using stem cells.
Credit: ISSCR
Evanston, IL— The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) is honoring Peter W. Andrews, BSc., D.Phil., M.B.A., University of Sheffield, U.K. and Tenneille Ludwig, Ph.D., WiCell, U.S.A., with the 2024 ISSCR Public Service Award for their work leading the development of the first international, comprehensive Standards for Human Stem Cell Use in Research.
The award recognizes the outstanding public service contributions to the fields of stem cell research and regenerative medicine and will be presented during Plenary VII on 13 July at the ISSCR 2024 Annual Meeting in Hamburg, Germany. ISSCR 2024 is the world’s leading gathering of the brightest minds in stem cell research and regenerative medicine.
“The development of international standards for stem cell research was a groundbreaking, two-year journey adeptly led by Tenneille and Peter,” ISSCR President Amander Clark, Ph.D. said. “The result of this international collaboration is one of the most impactful initiatives in the ISSCR’s history, setting the standard for rigor and reproducibility in preclinical research and ultimately strengthening the pipeline of therapies for patients. The recognition of Peter and Tenneille for their leadership and enormous commitment as co-chairs of this initiative is incredibly well deserved.”
"I am honored and humbled to receive this award,” Tenneille Ludwig said. "I am deeply grateful to the ISSCR for their vision, and to Peter and all the dedicated collaborators, editors, and reviewers for unselfishly giving of their time and expertise throughout the developmental process. Our collaborative work on the Standards initiative highlights the guiding principles of rigor and transparency in research, and their importance in driving the field forward.”
“I am very grateful to the ISSCR for this award and would like to thank Tenneille and all my other friends and colleagues with whom it has been a privilege to work on the Standards Initiative over the past two years,” Peter W. Andrews said.
Tenneille Ludwig is the Senior Scientist and Director of the WiCell Stem Cell Bank and a member of the UW-Madison Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center. She is well known for the development of mTeSR1, a groundbreaking, defined culture medium still in widespread use today. Professionally, her primary focus is working collaboratively to define and refine consensus standards for PSC banking, characterization, and distribution of research, pre-clinical and cGMP manufactured materials, and working with both academic and industry stakeholders to support the advancement of stem cell technologies through development and clinical trial.
Peter Andrews is Emeritus Professor of Biomedical Science at the University of Sheffield. His pioneering study of pluripotent human embryonal carcinoma cells paved the way for the study of human embryonic stem cells, demonstrating their differences from corresponding mouse cells and identifying cell surface antigens now widely used for their characterization. He discovered their propensity for non-random genetic changes driven by the altered expression of specific genes, with implications for applications in regenerative medicine. His current interest is the use of pluripotent stem cell-derived neural crest derivatives for treating gut disorders.
The ISSCR Standards initiative is supported through contributions by Burroughs Wellcome Fund (BWF), Doris Duke Foundation (DDF), and the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI). Learn more about their support.
ISSCR 2024, co-sponsored by the City of Hamburg, Life Science Nord, Bayer, and BlueRock Therapeutics, will take place 10-13 July 2024 in Hamburg, Germany.
About the International Society for Stem Cell Research (www.isscr.org)
With nearly 5,000 members from 80 countries, the International Society for Stem Cell Research is the preeminent global, cross-disciplinary, science-based organization dedicated to stem cell research and its translation to the clinic. The ISSCR mission is to promote excellence in stem cell science and applications to human health. Additional information about stem cell science is available at AboutStemCells.org, an initiative of the Society to inform the public about stem cell research and its potential to improve human health.
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