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.
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.