San Antonio, Texas - The World Stem Cell Summit, in San Antonio, unites and educates the global stem cell community. With more than 1,200 attendees from more than 40 countries, the annual World Stem Cell Summit’s interdisciplinary agenda explores disease updates, research directions, cell standardization, regulatory pathways, reimbursements, financing, venture capital and economic development.

Throughout the week, the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine will use social media to connect using the hashtag #WSCS14. At the end of the week, we'll let the tweets, Google+ posts, Flickr photos, Facebook posts and YouTube videos tell the story.

The World Stem Cell Summit includes in-depth programming and more than 200 international speakers, including leaders from the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine:

• Atta Behfar, M.D., Ph.D., is director of the Cardiac Regeneration Program in the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine. Dr. Behfar and colleagues are working on new science and clinical trials in heart disease that harness the reparative capacity of a patient’s own stem cells.
• Jeffrey Janus, M.D. is assistant professor in Otolaryngology, Head & Neck Surgery at Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn. He specializes in head & neck oncologic and reconstructive surgery. Dr. Janus's research endeavors primarily focus on craniofacial bone restoration and stem cell solutions for radiation damage.
• Timothy Nelson, M.D., Ph.D., is director of the Todd and Karen Wanek Family Program for Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS). In the program, Mayo Clinic physicians and researchers are working to launch clinical trials that bring the latest advances in cell therapy to people with HLHS. Additionally, Dr. Nelson oversees the Regenerative Medicine Consult Service at Mayo Clinic, which provides educational information and appropriate referrals to patients who want to learn about regenerative medicine opportunities at Mayo Clinic and elsewhere.
• Zachary Resch, Ph.D., is assistant professor of medicine and program manager for the Center for Regenerative Medicine Biotrust at Mayo Clinic. The Biotrust is specializes in the collection, processing, and storage of human biomaterials for regenerative medicine applications.
• Shane Shapiro, M.D., is a consultant in the Department of Orthopedic Surgery at Mayo Clinic and is an instructor of Family Medicine at Mayo Clinic College of Medicine. A primary focus of his research has been the study of novel regenerative techniques for chronic non-healing bone, joint, muscle, tendon, ligament and skin maladies that are not candidates for conventional surgical management. Most recently, the FDA has granted Dr. Shapiro an investigational new drug (IND) to study the use of autologous enriched bone marrow aspirate for use in osteoarthritic knees.
• Nathan Staff, M.D., a neurologist clinician-investigator, uses neuroregenerative strategies in both laboratory-based model systems and human clinical trials to study disorders that damage the peripheral nervous system. His research focuses on chemotherapy-induced peripheral neuropathy (CIPN) and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS, Lou Gehrig’s disease).  He has been one of the leaders of Mayo Clinic’s Phase I Clinical Safety Trial studying injection of autologous mesenchymal stem cells in patients with ALS.
• Andre Terzic, M.D., Ph.D., is the Michael S. and Mary Sue Shannon Director, Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine and Marriott Family Professor in Cardiovascular Diseases Research. Dr. Terzic has pioneered regenerative medicine at Mayo Clinic, and his program capitalizes on emerging technologies to transform therapeutic modalities from palliative measures to cures.
• Anthony Windebank, M.D., a neurologist and molecular biologist, is deputy director for discovery in the Mayo Clinic Center for Regenerative Medicine. He is director of the Cellular Neurobiology Laboratory, which focuses on repair and regeneration after spinal cord injury, repair and regeneration of peripheral nerve and stem cell applications for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, or Lou Gehrig’s disease.
• Michael Yaszemski, M.D., Ph.D., is a Mayo Clinic orthopedic surgeon, biomedical engineer, and co-director for both bone regeneration and nerve injury research at Armed Forces Institute of Regenerative Medicine. He will participate in a session on the United States military investment in Regenerative Medicine session.
• Abba Zubair, M.D., Ph.D., is a consultant in the Department of Laboratory Medicine and Pathology and medical director, Transfusion Medicine and Stem Cell Therapy at Mayo Clinic in Jacksonville, Fla. Dr. Zubair’s research focuses on the use of stem cells for regenerative medicine applications. He recently received an award from NASA (CASIS) that will allow him to use the microgravity environment to grow stem cells that are of sufficient quality and quantity to use in the treatment of patients with stroke.

About the World Stem Cell Summit
Mayo Clinic, The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio, Kyoto University Institute for Integrated Cell-Material Sciences (iCeMS), BioBridge Global, Baylor College of Medicine and the Regenerative Medicine Foundation have joined the Genetics Policy Institute to organize the 10th Annual World Stem Cell Summit — the largest and most comprehensive multi-track interdisciplinary stem cell conference.