Researchers From The Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute Win Awards For Hair Follicle Regeneration Solution

Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute researchers Dr. Alexey Terskikh and Dr. Antonella Pinto have won a prize for best poster at the 2019 UC San Diego Division of Regenerative Medicine Symposium and a merit award for best abstract at the 2019 International Society for Stem Cell Research Annual Meeting.  The poster and abstract highlighted the use of Dermal Papilla cells derived from human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (iPSC) to grow partially humanize de novo hair follicles in nude mice.  A therapy which can to grow de novo hair follicles to treat hair loss does not exist today but has long been considered a “holy grail” solution for people suffering from hair loss.  Two unique aspects of Dr. Terskikh and Dr. Pinto’s solution is the ability to generate the necessary cell types to initiate de novo hair follicle formation and the ability to control the hair follicle growth up and out of the skin, resulting in an aesthetically pleasing and functional hair shaft.  As a result of winning the awards, Dr. Pinto was invited to give podium presentations at both events.

The award winning solution from Dr. Terskikh and Dr. Pinto is the basis for forming Stemson Therapeutics, a company co-founded by Dr. Terskikh to commercialize their hair growth cell therapy.