Clinical Advisory Boards

We have established two Clinical Advisory Boards whose principal objectives are to advise the Company on the clinical development of our stem cell therapies, to review and monitor progress with our therapeutic programmes and to provide a rigorous critique of our programme strategy going forward. It is envisaged that the constitution of the CABs will evolve as our therapeutic programmes advance further, dependent upon the particular scientific and medical expertise required.


ReN001 stem cell therapy for stroke

Dr Sid Gilman MD, FRCP – Chairman

Dr Gilman is the William J Herdman Distinguished University Professor, Department of Neurology, University of Michigan. He has held academic positions at Harvard University, Columbia University and the University of Michigan since 1965, and is editor-in-chief of two neuroscience journals. Amongst his advisory committee roles, he was a member of the FDA Peripheral and Central Nervous System Advisory Committee for 17 years, chaired the committee for 4 years, and remains appointed as an FDA consultant.

Dr Louis Caplan MD

Dr Caplan is Chief, Cerebrovascular and Stroke Division, Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center and Professor of Neurology, Harvard Medical School, Boston. Dr. Caplan is a renowned expert in cerebrovascular disease including stroke and has authored numerous articles and books on stroke and stroke care. He was involved in an early cell therapy clinical trial for stroke patients using Diacrin Inc.'s porcine tissue.

Dr Douglas Kondziolka MD, MSc, FRCS, FACS

Dr Kondziolka is the Peter J. Jannetta Professor and Vice Chairman of Neurological Surgery and Professor of Radiation Oncology, University of Pittsburgh. He is President, Congress of Neurological Surgeons and past President, International Stereotactic Radiosurgery Society and American Society for Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery. Dr Kondziolka has pioneered a number of neurological techniques and conducted the groundbreaking initial clinical trials of a cryopreserved cell therapy product, Layton Bioscience Inc.'s LBS Neurons, in stroke patients. Dr Kondziolka, on appointment as Principal Investigator of ReNeuron's ReN001 Phase I clinical trial, will no longer play a role on the CAB other than in his capacity as Principal Investigator.

Dr Paul Sanberg Ph.D. DSc

Dr Sanberg is Distinguished University Professor and Director, Center for Aging and Brain Repair, University of South Florida. Dr Sanberg has extensive experience in bringing neural transplantation therapies from the laboratory to the clinic. He served as the first Scientific Director for Cellular Transplant Inc., which became publicly traded as CytoTherapeutics Inc. (now StemCells, Inc.). He has also served as the Chief Scientific Officer for Layton BioScience Inc. He is founder and President of Saneron CCEL Therapeutics Inc., a spin-out company from the University of South Florida.

Professor Philip Bath, BSc, MB, BS, MD, FRCPath, FRCP FESC

Professor Bath is the Stroke Association Professor of Stroke Medicine at the University of Nottingham. He is an expert in pharmaceutical studies in stroke at both pre-clinical and clinical level.


ReN009 stem cell therapy for peripheral arterial disease (PAD)

John P Cooke MD, PhD

Dr Cooke is a Professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at Stanford University School of Medicine, and Associate Director (Education and Training) of the Stanford Cardiovascular Institute.  At Stanford, he spearheads the programme in Vascular Biology and Medicine and directs a translational research programme in vascular biology from molecule to man, focused on endothelial biology, angiogenesis and vascular regeneration.  The programme is funded by grants from the National Institutes of Health, the American Heart Association, and industry.  Dr Cooke has published over 350 manuscripts, book chapters, and patents in the arena of vascular medicine and biology.   He serves on US national and international committees that deal with cardiovascular diseases, including those of the American Heart Association, American College of Cardiology, and the US National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute.   He is Past President of the US Society for Vascular Medicine and a Director of the American Board of Vascular Medicine.

William R Hiatt MD

Dr Hiatt is the Novartis Foundation endowed Professor for Cardiovascular Research in the Department of Medicine, University of Colorado Denver School of Medicine.  He is chief of the Section of Vascular Medicine, with appointments in cardiology and geriatrics.  He is also the President of the Colorado Prevention Center, a university-affiliated, non-profit cardiovascular and clinical trials research organisation that directs study design and provides academic oversight of trials of drugs and angiogenic therapies for PAD.  He is a past-president of the Society for Vascular Medicine and is a fellow in the American Heart Association and the American College of Physicians.  He is currently the Chair of the American Heart Association Peripheral Vascular Disease Council.  Dr Hiatt also serves on the editorial board as an Associate Editor for the journal Vascular Medicine, the Cochrane Review Group on “Peripheral Vascular Disease,” and he is guest editor for Circulation and the Journal of the American College of Cardiology.  Dr Hiatt is the immediate past Chairman of the United States Food and Drug Administration Cardiovascular and Renal Advisory Committee (2003-08).  Dr Hiatt’s academic career has centered on clinical, educational, and research issues in cardiovascular medicine and PAD, resulting in over 150 peer-reviewed publications. 

Douglas Losordo MD

Dr Losordo is the Director of the US Feinberg Cardiovascular Research Institute and the Eileen M. Foell Professor of Heart Research at Northwestern University's School of Medicine and Director of the Program in Cardiovascular Regenerative Medicine at Northwestern Memorial Hospital. He is board-certified in internal medicine, cardiovascular disease, and interventional cardiology and is a Fellow of the American College of Cardiology, the American Heart Association, the American Association for the Advancement of Science, the American College of Physicians, the American College of Chest Physicians, and the US Society for Cardiac Angiography and Interventions.  Dr Losordo’s major research interests encompass angiogenesis/ vasculogenesis, progenitor/adult stem cells, tissue repair/regeneration, and vascular biology.  His group has executed the full “translational medicine” paradigm, identifying novel therapeutics in the laboratory, developing these strategies in small and large animal models and designing and executing first-in-man clinical trials. Examples include VEGF gene therapy for myocardial ischemia and diabetic neuropathy, and CD34+ cell therapy for refractory angina, critical limb ischemia and severe claudication. Dr Losordo has also trained numerous scientists and physician scientists from around the world.

Paolo Madeddu MD

Professor Madeddu is Chair of Experimental Cardiovascular Medicine, Bristol Heart Institute, University of Bristol.  Prior to this, he was a Consultant in Internal Medicine and Assistant Professor in Internal Medicine, Department of Internal Medicine, Medical University of Sassari, Italy, and Chief of Gene Therapy and Experimental Medicine Division INBB, Inter-University Consortium, Italy.  He was also a Senior Research Fellow, Hypertension Unit, Henry Ford Hospital, Detroit, US.  Professor Madeddu’s research activities have resulted in over 170 peer-reviewed publications. His research is directed towards the development of more effective strategies to treat chronic limb and myocardial ischaemia as well as diabetes-related microvascular complications, in particular impaired angiogenesis and wound healing. Professor Madeddu’s research has identified novel angiogenic factors, in particular human tissue kallikrein, and has developed platforms for translational research to bring these discoveries from the bench to the bedside. More recently, his research has explored the potential of stem cell transplantation to achieve therapeutic angiogenesis.  This research, including work done in collaboration with ReNeuron, has involved studies examining the therapeutic potential of human stem cells for the regeneration of wounded tissues in murine models of myocardial infarction and ischaemic diabetic wounds.

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