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The New York Stem Cell Foundation, or NYSCF, is an American
non-profit A nonprofit organization (NPO), also known as a nonbusiness entity, nonprofit institution, not-for-profit organization, or simply a nonprofit, is a non-governmental (private) legal entity organized and operated for a collective, public, or so ...
research institute A research institute, research centre, or research organization is an establishment founded for doing research. Research institutes may specialize in basic research or may be oriented to applied research. Although the term often implies natural ...
focused on
stem cell In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can change into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell ...
research, technology development, and funding researchers. Headquartered on the far west side of Manhattan, New York, NYSCF employs 114 scientists, technicians, engineers, and administrative and other staff, in addition to funding early career investigators and postdoctoral fellows. Since its inception, NYSCF has raised and invested more than $400 million for stem cell research.


Organization


History

NYSCF was founded in
New York City New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
by Susan L. Solomon, a lawyer and entrepreneur, and Mary Elizabeth Bunzel, a former journalist, in 2005 to accelerate stem cell-based approaches to researching and treating type 1 diabetes and in response to the refusal of the administration of President
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician and businessman who was the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Bush family and the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he i ...
to make a major investment in stem cell research. In 2006, NYSCF opened the NYSCF Research Institute – a 500 square foot, one-room independent laboratory located adjacent to
Columbia University Columbia University in the City of New York, commonly referred to as Columbia University, is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Churc ...
– as a safe-haven to conduct
somatic cell nuclear transfer In genetics and developmental biology, somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT) is a laboratory strategy for creating a viable embryo from a body cell and an egg cell. The technique consists of taking a denucleated oocyte (egg cell) and implanti ...
research through a collaboration with Columbia University and
Harvard University Harvard University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States. Founded in 1636 and named for its first benefactor, the History of the Puritans in North America, Puritan clergyma ...
. In 2015, NYSCF signed a 20-year lease to move its headquarters and NYSCF Research Institute laboratories to a renovated 42,000 square foot space at 619 West 54th Street in the former
Warner Brothers Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (WBEI), commonly known as Warner Bros. (WB), is an American filmed entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California and the main namesake subsidiary of Warner Bro ...
'Movie Lab' building, rebranded as the Hudson Research Center by commercial real estate developer and building owner Taconic. Opened in 2017, the new headquarters includes space for a Good Manufacturing Practice facility to manufacture cells for clinical trials. In 2021, New York City announced it would grant NYSCF $6.5M as one of four applied research and development (R&D) facilities to equip an expansion of its Research Institute.


Corporate leadership

The NYSCF is currently led by Jennifer J. Raab, former President of Hunter College. Raab was appointed as President & Chief Executive Officer in January 2024. The board of directors includes Roy Geronemus, Stephen M. Ross, Stephen Scherr, Kay Unger, Paul Goldberger, and
Siddhartha Mukherjee Siddhartha Mukherjee ( Bengali: সিদ্ধার্থ মুখার্জী; born 21 July 1970) is an Indian-American physician, biologist, and author. He is best known for his 2010 book, '' The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of ...
.


Research


High-throughput technologies

In 2015, NYSCF described the development of the NYSCF Global Stem Cell Array, a fully-automated system for high-throughput creation, differentiation, and quality control of stem cell lines. The system saves five to six times the cost of reagents as compared to manual stem cell derivation. The Global Stem Cell Array has been used to conduct research on several patient groups including children with rare diseases, veterans with
post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental disorder that develops from experiencing a Psychological trauma, traumatic event, such as sexual assault, domestic violence, child abuse, warfare and its associated traumas, natural disaster ...
, and Parkinson’s patients.


Stem cell-based research

NYSCF research resulting in the first human stem cell lines from the cells of patients with
amyotrophic lateral sclerosis Amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as motor neuron disease (MND) or—in the United States—Lou Gehrig's disease (LGD), is a rare, Terminal illness, terminal neurodegenerative disease, neurodegenerative disorder that results i ...
(ALS), commonly known as Lou Gehrig’s disease, was named as ''
Time Time is the continuous progression of existence that occurs in an apparently irreversible process, irreversible succession from the past, through the present, and into the future. It is a component quantity of various measurements used to sequ ...
'' magazine's top medical breakthrough of 2008 and the number one breakthrough of the year by ''
Science Science is a systematic discipline that builds and organises knowledge in the form of testable hypotheses and predictions about the universe. Modern science is typically divided into twoor threemajor branches: the natural sciences, which stu ...
'' magazine. In 2018, a phase 2 clinical trial for Ezogabine, an epilepsy treatment identified as a possible ALS therapy based on this human stem cell model, was shown to reduce motor neuron excitability in ALS patients. In 2013, NYSCF researchers created the first patient-specific bone from stem cells and successfully transplanted the grafts into mice. NYSCF researchers created stem cells and derived neurons from a pair of identical twins, one with Parkinson’s disease and one without, finding their neurons differed in how they produce the neurotransmitter
dopamine Dopamine (DA, a contraction of 3,4-dihydroxyphenethylamine) is a neuromodulatory molecule that plays several important roles in cells. It is an organic chemical of the catecholamine and phenethylamine families. It is an amine synthesized ...
and the enzyme beta-glucocerebrosidase in addition to differing in a molecular signaling pathway. NYSCF researchers, in collaboration with researchers at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
, created astrocytes from human stem cells and showed that in disease-like environments these cells can turn into neuron killers.


Mitochondrial replacement therapy

NYSCF researchers developed mitochondrial replacement therapy in 2012, or MRT, a technique to prevent the mother-to-child transmission of mitochondrial diseases which is now approved for clinical use in the United Kingdom.


Artificial intelligence

With
Google Google LLC (, ) is an American multinational corporation and technology company focusing on online advertising, search engine technology, cloud computing, computer software, quantum computing, e-commerce, consumer electronics, and artificial ...
Research, NYSCF scientists used the NYSCF Array and
artificial intelligence Artificial intelligence (AI) is the capability of computer, computational systems to perform tasks typically associated with human intelligence, such as learning, reasoning, problem-solving, perception, and decision-making. It is a field of re ...
algorithms to identify new cellular features of Parkinson’s disease by analyzing over six million images of skin cells, sampled and expanded from a group of 91 Parkinson’s patients and healthy controls.


Partnerships

Organizations NYSCF has or is currently partnering with include: Google; the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, the James J. Peters Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and Yale University School of Medicine; Rush University Medical Center,
Harvard Medical School Harvard Medical School (HMS) is the medical school of Harvard University and is located in the Longwood Medical and Academic Area, Longwood Medical Area in Boston, Massachusetts. Founded in 1782, HMS is the third oldest medical school in the Un ...
, and Brigham and Women’s Hospital;
Johns Hopkins School of Medicine The Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine (JHUSOM) is the medical school of Johns Hopkins University, a private research university in Baltimore, Maryland. Established in 1893 following the construction of the Johns Hopkins Hospital, th ...
and Bloomberg Philanthropies; and Columbia University Medical Center and the National Eye Institute.


Activism

NYSCF started a working group "Initiative on Women in Science and Engineering" (IWISE) to address
gender equality Gender equality, also known as sexual equality, gender egalitarianism, or equality of the sexes, is the state of equal ease of access to resources and opportunities regardless of gender, including economic participation and decision-making, an ...
in science and STEM fields. The IWISE working group published seven actionable strategies for institutions to promote gender equity in a 2015 Cell Stem Cell paper. One of these steps is an Institutional Report Card for Gender Equality, which NYSCF created and requires every NYSCF grant applicant to fill out. The results of a 5-year analysis of these report card submissions were published in a 2019 Cell Stem Cell paper defining the extent of gender parity issues in the academic pipeline and opportunities for improvement.


Funding

NYSCF was founded with private philanthropy from individuals and foundations. Notable early funders include former New York City mayor Michael R. Bloomberg; the investor Stanley Druckenmiller and his wife, Fiona; and a foundation founded by the late hedge-fund manager Julian Robertson. NYSCF hosts an annual fundraising Gala and Science Fair. Past honorees include Janet and Jerry Zucker, Sanjay Gupta, MD; Siddhartha Mukherjee, MD, DPhil; Irving Weissman, MD; Susan and Stephen Scherr; Victor Garber; Derrick Rossi, PhD; Kizzmekia Corbett, PhD; Barney Graham, MD, PhD; Katalin Karikó, PhD; Drew Weissman, MD, PhD; Brooke Ellison;
Frank Gehry Frank Owen Gehry ( ; ; born February 28, 1929) is a Canadian-American architect and designer. A number of his buildings, including his private residence in Santa Monica, California, have become attractions. Gehry rose to prominence in th ...
; and David Rockwell. In 2021 and 2020, NYSCF held virtual Galas both directed by Scott Ellis and hosted by Sanjay Gupta, MD. In addition to philanthropy, NYSCF also receives funding from grants, partnerships, and collaborations.


Awards

Several awards are administered by the NYSCF. The Robertson Early Career Investigator Awards are given to scientists who have recently launched their own laboratories and provides unrestricted funding over a five-year period to scientists around the world, funded by the Robertson Foundation since 2010. The Druckenmiller Postdoctoral Fellows Awards provide three years of unrestricted funding to postdoctoral stem cell researchers in the tri-state area of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, and are funded by Stanley and Fiona Druckenmiller. Notable recipients of NYSCF awards include


References


External links

Official website
{{Authority control, qid=Q7014732 Research institutes Independent research institutes Scientific research foundations Stem cell research Non-profit organizations based in New York City Medical and health foundations based in the United States Biomedical research foundations