Frontiers in Stem Cell Innovation 2026

The Frontiers in Stem Cell Innovation Conference will bring together leading academic and industry expertise in stem cell research to explore the breakthrough technologies and translational developments that are transforming drug discovery and therapeutic development.

The Conference will showcase cutting-edge advances in stem cell production, differentiation, and disease modeling applications across multiple therapeutic areas.

Conference Summary

Day 1, Thursday 5th February

Time: 16.30 - 18.30

Venue: Wellcome Genome Conference Centre, Hinxton, Cambridge, CB10 1RQ

The opening session will kick off immediately after the WORD+ 2026 event with a keynote lecture and a industry & academia panel discussion considering biotechnological application of organoid and advanced stem cell technologies.

Keynote speaker: Majjlinda Lako Professor of Stem Cell Science, Biosciences Institute, Newcastle University

Panel session, including contributions from:

• Erica Bello, Head of Target Discovery Group at the Milner Therapeutics Institute
• CEO, Talisman Therapeutics & Gen2 Neuroscience. Honorary Professor, UCL Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health, University College London, Adjunct Professor, School of Medicine, Trinity College Dublin
• Adriana Buskin, Research Fellow, Translational and Clinical Research Institute, Newcastle University Centre for Cancer, Newcastle University.

The afternoon will finish with a networking drinks reception at the Wellcome Genome Conference Centre.

Day 2, Friday 6th February

Time: 9.00 - 15.00

Venue: The Cambridge Building, Babraham Research Campus, Cambridge, CB22 3AT

The conference's second day will emphasize practical applications of stem cell technologies in neuroscience and oncology research. The programme features presentations from key industry stakeholders and will close with a second interactive panel discussion.

Speakers:

• Fiona Ducotterd, Professor of Neuroscience. Department of Neuromuscular Diseases, University College London. Chief Scientific Officer of the Alzheimer's Research UK UCL Drug Discovery Institute (UDDI)

• Fiona Menzies, Associate Vice President at Eli Lilly and Company

• Davide Danovi, Co-founder of Migration Biotherapeutics Ltd, Visiting Senior Lecturer at King's College London and the University of Cambridge

• Marzena Kurzawa-Akanbi, Lecturer in Regenerative Medicine, Newcastle University

• Bilada Bilican, Senior Director of Applied Stem Cell Sciences, Centre for Genomics Research, AstraZeneca

• Peter Rugg-Gunn, Group Leader, Epigenetics Programme, The Babraham Institute

• Maria A Christophorou, Tenure-track Group Leader, Epigenetics Programme, The Babraham Institute

• Matteo Martufi, Associate Director and Group leader of the GSK UK Stem Cell group, Target Discovery, GSK

• Stefan Schoenfelder, Senior Staff Scientist, Epigenetics Programme, The Babraham Institute

• Mark Kotter, Founder of bit.bio, Meatable, clock.bio, Research Professor, University of Cambridge, Team Lead in Neuroprotection & Neurodegeneration, NIHR Brain Injury MedTech Co-operative.

Full Programme Details to Follow

This conference is taking place thanks to the support provided by:

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Host or Publisher The Babraham Institute and Newcastle University