38. Future of Organoids w/ Hans Clevers - Organoid Pioneer & Professor @ Hubrecht Institute

BIOS

Hans Clevers is Director & Professor of Molecular Genetics @ the Hubrecht Institute in the Netherlands. He is also University Professor at the University Utrecht and Oncode Investigator. Clevers is one of the world’s leading researchers on stem cells and their potential for regenerative therapy. Over the past decade, his lab has produced vital studies on stem cells and the nature of self-renewal pathways controlling stem cells. Clevers was the first researcher to demonstrate the existence of long-lived stem cells in many tissues, including the intestine and stomach. Starting from the discovery that the TCF gene is the transcriptional endpoint of the WNT pathway, a pathway that is implicated in stem cell control, Clevers demonstrated that one of the TCF genes is essential for the stem cell compartment in the intestine.

w/ Special Guest Host: Xiling Shen - Co-Founder & CEO @ Xilis

Xiling Shen is Co-Founder & CEO @ Xilis. Before Xilis, Shen was the Hawkins Family Associate Professor at Duke University. Shen’s research interests lie in precision medicine and systems biology. His lab integrates engineering, computational and biological techniques to study cancer, stem cells, microbiota and the nervous system in the gut. This multidisciplinary work has been instrumental in initiating several translational clinical trials in precision therapy. He is the director of the Woo Center for Big Data and Precision Health (DAP) and a core member of the Center for Genomics and Computational Biology (GCB).

Hans Clevers & Xiling Shen are Co-Founders @ Xilis. Xilis is developing a precision oncology platform that guides treatment decisions for oncologists to improve cancer care outcomes for patients and supports drug discovery and development for pharmaceutical companies. Xilis’ proprietary MicroOrganoSphere™ (MOS) technology consists of miniature patient tumors that capture the full microenvironment and heterogeneity and provides an automated and scalable solution. Using MOS and AI-driven algorithms, Xilis is developing a Xilis Response Score™ for the clinic, enabling oncologists to make informed and timely treatment decisions. Additionally, the MOS technology is speeding up development and clinical trials of cancer drugs by enabling analysis of authentic tumor microenvironments, high-throughput preclinical modeling, and clinical patient selection capabilities.

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Music: Danger Storm by Kevin MacLeod (link & license)