Brendan Christopher Jones

MBBS, PhD, Novo Nordisk A/S, Denmark

Brendan Jones is Global Medical Manager for Cell Therapy in Novo Nordisk Global Medical Affairs, based in Denmark. In this role, he responsible for providing medical insights and input to the development strategy, promoting the patient voice in cell therapy projects, engaging with external experts, and leading scientific dialogue activities.  Prior to joining Novo Nordisk, Brendan worked in paediatric and neonatal surgery in Australia and Great Britain for more than 10 years.  He holds a Ph.D. in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine from University College London.

Charis Segeritz-Walko

PhD, Novo Nordisk A/S, Denmark

Charis Segeritz-Walko is Director of Innovation Projects in Novo Nordisk’s Cell Therapy R&D department. In this role, she oversees the exploration and evaluation of new project ideas and partnerships, and their maturation into Novo Nordisk’s early project portfolio. She previously contributed as a Principal Scientist to Novo Nordisk’s department for Global Drug Development by establishing advanced human in vitro models for drug target discovery and validation. Prior to joining Novo Nordisk, Charis lead a R&D team at STEMCELL Technologies, advancing products for stem cell differentiation from ideation to market launch. Charis holds a Ph.D. in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine from the University of Cambridge. 

Fabian Vinzenz Roske

PhD, Novo Nordisk A/S, Denmark

Dr. Fabian Roske is a Senior Scientist working in Cell Therapy CMC at Novo Nordisk A/S. He obtained his PhD in stem cell biology from the University of Copenhagen. His work focuses on the understanding of pluripotency in human stem cell lines and the development of robust expansion protocols for both human iPS and ES cell lines. At Novo Nordisk, Fabian works in the department of Cell Therapy Process Technologies & Clinical Supplies, where he is the process owner of the Master Cell Bank project. This platform project is responsible for process development and manufacturing of GMP-grade stem cell banks used across all of Novo Nordisk’s cell therapy projects. 

Keiichi Fukuda

MD, PhD, Heartseed Inc., Japan

Keiichi Fukuda is pioneer of the cardiac regeneration field and has been at its cutting edge for the past 20 years. He has made several contributions to the regenerative medicine of the failing heart using iPS cells. He developed novel method to purify the cardiomyocytes by metabolic selection. He became Chief Professor of the Department of Cardiology in Keio University, and published more than 800 top-ranked papers. He had established bio-venture company “Heartseed Inc.” in 2015 and became CEO. He is now examining the clinical trial for transplanting human iPS-derived regenerated cardiomyocytes to the patients with congestive heart failure.

Malin Parmar

PhD, Lund University, Sweden

Dr. Malin Parmar is a professor in cellular neuroscience at Lund University in Sweden,  a Distinguished Professor of the Swedish Research Council and a New York Stem Cell Foundation Robertson Investigator. Together with her lab she has made significant discoveries on how human fibroblasts can be converted into neurons, how glial cells can be reprogrammed into neurons in vivo, and how functional dopamine neurons can be generated from human embryonic stem cells.  Her research has a strong translational focus and she leads the European trial STEM-PD, a first in human trial using stem cell-derived dopamine neurons to treat Parkinson’s Disease.  She is a member of the Swedish Royal Academy Of Science and a member of the ISSCR Board.

Megan Munsie

PhD, University of Melbourne, Australia

Megan Munsie PhD is a developmental biologist who leads research programs into ethical, legal and social implications of stem cell research at the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute and the University of Melbourne in Australia, and reNEW, the transglobal Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine. Her research focuses on understanding views and expectations held by patients, their families and community members, and the development of policy and professional standards to enable responsible translation of stem cell research. She is internationally recognised for her contribution to public outreach and advocacy, and serves on advisory committees to ISSCR and other peak national and international bodies.