Inaugural Lecture by Professor Christodoulos Xinaris
The University of Nicosia Medical School invites you to the online Inaugural Lecture “How far are we from growing human organs in the lab?”
Introduction and moderation by Prof Adonis Ioannides | Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, UNIC Medical School.
Summary
Recent progress in regenerative medicine and tissue engineering has created great expectations for the de novo generation of human tissues that can be used for modelling human disease in vitro and testing drugs, and for regenerative medicine applications. This lecture aspires to lead the audience from the first pivotal steps towards the replacement of human organs to the current reality of regenerative medicine. We will see how the pioneers of the field dealt with ambiguity and criticism, how they overcame insurmountable (for their time) technical problems, and laid the basis of contemporary regenerative medicine. We will then analyse our present technical capacities through successful paradigms (mainly from our own research) on how we can develop human organoids and engineer patient-derived tissues that can be used for modelling human diseases and drug testing, as well as for replacement therapies. Finally, we will highlight the existing limitations and challenges of the field of regenerative medicine and discuss future perspectives.
About the Speaker
Christodoulos Xinaris is a Professor at the University of Nicosia Medical School and Head of the Laboratory of Organ Regeneration at the Mario Negri Institute for Pharmacological Research in Italy.
He has authored and co-authored numerous articles, proceedings, reviews and books in the field of regenerative medicine, and delivered talks at various leading universities. He is a member of the European Commission’s Expert Panel and acts as a reviewer for several international funding agencies as well as for several academic journals. He has also served as scientific adviser in private institutions and companies and in non-governmental organisations, and co-founded and directed a start-up biotech company. In 2016 he was knighted by the President of the Italian Republic for his contribution to science and society.