Stuart Forbes, M.B., Ch.B., Ph.D., is a global leader in the research of liver regeneration, with an emphasis on chronic disease and injury and how liver regeneration is altered in the development of liver cancer. His work aims to ultimately promote healthy liver regeneration and reduce incidences of liver failure and cancer, and has three linked programs of research,
including: the basic biology of the hepatic progenitor cell niche, cell therapy for liver regeneration, and the liver cancer niche in cholangiocarcinoma. Among Forbes’ numerous accomplishments are nearly 200 publications, as well as his roles as Director of the Institute for
Regeneration and Repair and the Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. Additional roles include Dean of Research for the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, Director of The Engineered Cell Environment at the UK Regenerative Medicine Platform Hub, and Professor of Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine. Forbes received his MBChB from the University of Edinburgh, and his Ph.D. from Imperial College. He also worked in London as a hepatologist before returning to Edinburgh to pursue his research.
Stuart Forbes, M.B., Ch.B., Ph.D., is a global leader in the research of liver regeneration, with an emphasis on chronic disease and injury and how liver regeneration is altered in the development of liver cancer. His work aims to ultimately promote healthy liver regeneration and reduce incidences of liver failure and cancer, and has three linked programs of research,
including: the basic biology of the hepatic progenitor cell niche, cell therapy for liver regeneration, and the liver cancer niche in cholangiocarcinoma. Among Forbes’ numerous accomplishments are nearly 200 publications, as well as his roles as Director of the Institute for
Regeneration and Repair and the Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. Additional roles include Dean of Research for the College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, Director of The Engineered Cell Environment at the UK Regenerative Medicine Platform Hub, and Professor of Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine. Forbes received his MBChB from the University of Edinburgh, and his Ph.D. from Imperial College. He also worked in London as a hepatologist before returning to Edinburgh to pursue his research.
Valerie Gouon-Evans, PharmD, PhD, is an Associate Professor of Medicine and a faculty member of the Center for Regenerative Medicine (CReM) at Boston University and Boston Medical Center. She serves as Director of the Boston University Liver Biologist (BULB) program and Co-Director of the Molecular and Translational Medicine PhD program. She has made significant contributions to the field of in vitro hepatocyte generation, particularly through her pioneering work on the use of BMP4 to induce hepatic specification from mouse, human, and macaque pluripotent stem cells—an approach now widely adopted in the stem cell field. Since relocating her laboratory from the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai in New York City to Boston University and Boston Medical Center in 2017, her research has focused on translating her developmental discoveries into strategies for liver regeneration. Her lab is actively developing approaches to treat various liver diseases, including cell therapy to repopulate diseased liver mouse models, promotion of intrinsic liver repair by enhancing hepatocyte proliferation, and generation of functional hepatocytes from liver progenitor cells. These projects utilize a cutting-edge platform based on nucleoside-modified mRNA complexed with lipid nanoparticles—a technology her lab has pioneered for liver repair. In recognition of the potential clinical impact of her work, she was recently honored with the Inaugural Boston Medical Center Research Excellence Award.
Markus Grompe, M.D., is responsible for forward-thinking research on the use of in vivo selection to enhance gene and cell transplantation therapy in the liver, work for which he is known worldwide. An additional focus of Grompe’s work includes hepatic stem cells and their use in therapeutic liver repopulation. Ultimately, the goal of his work is to contribute to the development of innovative treatments for metabolic liver diseases, among others. He is currently a Professor at Oregon Health Sciences University and Director of the Oregon Stem Cell Center in the Papé Family Pediatric Research Institute. Grompe received his M.D. from the University of Ulm Medical School in Germany, trained in Pediatrics at Oregon Health Sciences University and Baylor College of Medicine, where he was a Fellow in the Pediatric Scientist Training Program in the Institute for Molecular Genetics. He has published over 200 articles in peer-reviewed publications, holds multiple patents, and has been honored with awards such as the E. Mead Johnson Award for pediatric research and the Merit Award of the Fanconi Anemia Research Foundation.
Markus Grompe, M.D., is responsible for forward-thinking research on the use of in vivo selection to enhance gene and cell transplantation therapy in the liver, work for which he is known worldwide. An additional focus of Grompe’s work includes hepatic stem cells and their use in therapeutic liver repopulation. Ultimately, the goal of his work is to contribute to the development of innovative treatments for metabolic liver diseases, among others. He is currently a Professor at Oregon Health Sciences University and Director of the Oregon Stem Cell Center in the Papé Family Pediatric Research Institute. Grompe received his M.D. from the University of Ulm Medical School in Germany, trained in Pediatrics at Oregon Health Sciences University and Baylor College of Medicine, where he was a Fellow in the Pediatric Scientist Training Program in the Institute for Molecular Genetics. He has published over 200 articles in peer-reviewed publications, holds multiple patents, and has been honored with awards such as the E. Mead Johnson Award for pediatric research and the Merit Award of the Fanconi Anemia Research Foundation.
Scott Nyberg, M.D., Ph.D., is a Professor of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at Mayo Clinic, where he also leads the Mayo Liver Regenerative Medicine Program. Dr Nyberg has been recognized by Mayo Clinic as the first recipient of the Yardi Professorship in Transplantation. His research is centered on developing innovative, multidisciplinary strategies to treat liver failure, with an emphasis on regenerative medicine and cell-based therapies. Dr. Nyberg is a co-founder of the company and inventor of the Spheroid Reservoir Bioartificial Liver (SRBAL), a groundbreaking extracorporeal liver support system designed to bridge patients with liver failure to transplantation or enable spontaneous recovery when possible.
Scott Nyberg, M.D., Ph.D., is a Professor of Surgery and Biomedical Engineering at Mayo Clinic, where he also leads the Mayo Liver Regenerative Medicine Program. Dr Nyberg has been recognized by Mayo Clinic as the first recipient of the Yardi Professorship in Transplantation. His research is centered on developing innovative, multidisciplinary strategies to treat liver failure, with an emphasis on regenerative medicine and cell-based therapies. Dr. Nyberg is a co-founder of the company and inventor of the Spheroid Reservoir Bioartificial Liver (SRBAL), a groundbreaking extracorporeal liver support system designed to bridge patients with liver failure to transplantation or enable spontaneous recovery when possible.
Stephen Strom, Ph.D., is a world-renowned researcher with decades of experience investigating human liver biology, pathology, and disease. With research interests ranging from hepatocytes transplantation as a clinical treatment of liver disease to the regulation of human hepatocyte replication and differentiation, Strom’s body of work is expansive, with hundreds of publications and speaking invitations. He began his research career in the Department of Pharmacology at the University of Kansas Medical Center before undertaking postdoctoral work and, later, an Assistant Professorship at Duke University under George Michalopoulos. His research and work on hepatocyte isolation and transplantation continued at the Medical College of Virginia. After a move to Pittsburgh, Strom’s laboratory was the first in the U.S. to receive FDA approval for the isolation of hepatocytes for clinical transplantation. Dr. Strom has been Professor of Cell Transplantation and Regenerative Medicine at the Karolinska Institute in Sweden since 2012.
