NYSCF Milestones

T H E N EW YO R K S T E M C E L L F O U N D AT I O N

E D U C AT I O N CLINICAL IMPACT RESEARCH COMMUNITY BUILDING

TECHNOLOGY

NYSCF is Unique The mission of the New York Stem Cell Foundation is to accelerate cures for the major diseases of our time through stem cell research.

Combining the depth of a highly focused research laboratory with “the breadth of a wide-ranging philanthropic organization, NYSCF has had a profound impact on the entire field of stem cell research. As a non-profit research institute dedicated to accelerating treatments and cures for the major diseases of our time, NYSCF’s own scientists are conducting cutting-edge stem cell research in an independent, state-of-the-art laboratory, developing technologies to fuel a range of disease research, and collaborating with scientists at leading academic and medical institutions throughout the world.

“ There is so much momentum and

so many examples of measurable progress. But we are only just beginning…”

– Susan L. Solomon, Chief Executive Officer

The NYSCF Research Institute Conducting world-leading stem cell research in our laboratory and in collaboration with leading scientists at major medical research institutions.

NYSCF Innovators Supporting the next generation of talented scientists, both at the postdoctoral level as Fellows and as early career Investigators, who pursue innovative work that translates research into cures.

NYSCF Education and Outreach Hosting the preeminent annual translational stem cell research conference and comprehensive events throughout the year to engage scientists, policymakers, and the public.

Pre-NYSCF 1998

2001

2005

NYSCF names first class of NYSCF – Druckenmiller Postdoctoral Fellows

Dr. James Thomson of The University of Wisconsin – Madison derives the first-ever human embryonic stem cells President Bush prohibits federal funding of any research using stem cell lines derived after August 9, 2001

Inspired by the potential of stem cells and frustrated by the lack of government support, Susan L. Solomon co-founds The New York Stem Cell Foundation

2008

NYSCF receives $1.1M of seed funding from two funders 2006

NYSCF provides input to President-elect Barack Obama’s transition team on the administration’s policies regarding human embryonic stem cell research

NYSCF convenes the inaugural NYSCF Conference on translational stem cell research at The Rockefeller University

NYSCF expands its scientific team to advance diabetes research using somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT)

Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Law and Order Producer Dick Wolf speak at NYSCF’s First Annual Gala for scientists and supporters The NYSCF Research Institute opens as the first privately funded “safe haven” stem cell laboratory in New York, free from restrictions tied to federal funding Dr. Shinya Yamanaka of Kyoto University discovers how to derive ‘induced pluripotent stem cells’ from a small sample of adult skin cells. This breakthrough, which earned him a Nobel Prize, allows patient-specific stem cells to be created in the lab to advance research and therapies.

2007

Susan L. Solomon honored with Women of Excellence Award by Gov. David Paterson

NYSCF advises New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer and Lt. Gov. David Paterson in launching NYSTEM, New York state’s 11-year, $600M stem cell funding initiative

Time and Science magazines cite NYSCF-funded ALS research as the most significant scientific breakthrough of the year 2009

The NYSCF Research Institute Laboratory becomes an official New York shared facility under NYSTEM President Obama signs executive order, “Removing Barrier to Responsible Scientific Research Involving Human Stem Cells.” Susan L. Solomon attends signing at the White House

2010

NYSCF partners with the National Eye Institute at the National Institutes of Health to understand the genetic basis of age-related macular degeneration (AMD), predict who will get the disease, and determine which drugs will work for which patients

NYSCF creates the NYSCF – Robertson Investigator program for exceptional early career scientists starting their own laboratories Engineering and construction begins on the NYSCF Global Stem Cell Array® robotic technology for induced pluripotent stem cell production

NYSCF publishes new technique in Proceedings of the National Academies of Sciences for the creation of patient-specific, customizable bone to treat disease and injury

NYSCF expands its scientific team to begin research in Alzheimer’s disease, bone regeneration, and multiple sclerosis 2011

2014

Dr. Peter J. Coffey of University College London is awarded the inaugural NYSCF – Robertson Stem Cell Prize for his use of human embryonic stem cells to treat age-related macular degeneration — a major cause of blindness

NYSCF launches Initiative for Women in Science and Engineering (IWISE) to address issues of gender inequity, convening 16 leading women in science and technology

SCNT is named the #1 Medical Breakthrough of 2011 by TIME magazine 2012

NYSCF Science and Technology Education Program (STEP) launches Dr. Kazutoshi Takahashi of Kyoto University is awarded the NYSCF – Robertson Stem Cell Prize for his role in the discovery of induced pluripotent stem cells, a breakthrough that garnered the Nobel Prize for research leader Dr. Shinya Yamanaka

NYSCF partners with the Beyond Batten Disease Foundation to help advance a cure for a rare fatal neurological illness affecting children NYSCF teams up with a large pharma company to advance the use of stem cells in detecting drug toxicity

Susan L. Solomon announces The NYSCF Global Stem Cell Array® robotic technology at TED Global in

NYSCF scientists successfully generate a stem cell model for familial Alzheimer’s disease and identify fourteen genes that may be implicated in the disease, reported in PLOS One NYSCF scientists establish a faster protocol to create the cells affected in multiple sclerosis and publish the study in Stem Cell Reports 2015

NYSCF publishes mitochondrial replacement therapy in Nature, a major breakthrough that could prevent the inheritance of mitochondrial disease 2013

NYSCF is named a “Best Nonprofit to Work For”

by The NonProfit Times

The IWISE Working Group publishes “Seven Actionable Strategies for Advancing Women in Science, Engineering, and Medicine,” in Cell Stem Cell NYSCF convenes first meeting of the Immunoengineering Working Group to identify new strategies to overcome the immune attack in type 1 diabetes

NYSCF partners with the Stanley Center at the Broad Institute of MIT and Harvard to develop a stem cell resource for schizophrenia and psychiatric disorder research NYSCF scientists publish a paper in Nature Methods introducing The NYSCF Global Stem Cell Array® as a faster, more efficient, more reliable, and cost-effective method of creating stem cells and derived cell types 2016

A new procedure for generating brain organoids (clusters of human brain tissue made from stem cells) developed by NYSCF researchers and collaborators is published in Nature Methods 2019

NYSCF launches its Women’s Reproductive Cancers Initiative to use organoids (personalized 3D cancer models with an infinite lifespans) to advance cancer therapies and personalized drug testing

Dr. Feng Zhang of MIT receives the 6th NYSCF – Robertson Stem Cell Prize for pioneering CRISPR gene editing technology NYSCF scientists and colleagues at The Hebrew University of Jerusalem and Columbia University create a new type of stem cell with only one set of chromosomes (haploid stem cells), reported in Nature

Brain cells derived from the stem cells of multiple sclerosis and Parkinson’s disease patients are launched to the International Space Station for a long-term study of patient cells in microgravity

2017

The IWISE Institutional Report Card for Gender Equality results from over 500 institutions worldwide, published in Cell Stem Cell, show that women continue to be underrepresented in STEM leadership

NYSCF relocates to its expanded laboratories and offices on the far west side of Manhattan

NYSCF partners with Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine and Bloomberg Philanthropies to advance precision medicine 2020

NYSCF scientists publish a robust, efficient method for converting stem cells into microglia, the immune cells of the brain, in Stem Cell Reports 2018

NYSCF scientists invent technique for engineering large-scale personalized bone grafts called Segmental Additive Tissue Engineering (SATE), published in Scientific Reports

NYSCF CEO Susan L. Solomon receives the 2020 Public Service Award from the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) NYSCF launches a new online platform for individuals of all ages to ensure stem cell education continues during the COVID-19 pandemic

HOPE FOR THE FUTURE STARTS NOW!

Donate directly online at www.nyscf.org/donate or for more information, contact us at 212-365-7447 or development@nyscf.org.

Your generosity helps to support stem cell research The New York Stem Cell Foundation (NYSCF) is a non-profit organization committed to developing better treatments and cures for the most devastating diseases of our time through cutting-edge stem cell research, conducted in its own laboratory and by supporting research at other institutions. Research areas include Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, multiple sclerosis, diabetes, macular degeneration, cancer, and bone and tissue engineering.

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