Professor Zeljko J. Bosnjak, PhD.
Lecture 1: Future Directions in Healthcare: Stem cells and precision medicine
Brief discussion of the following patient-derived stem cell platforms:
a) Elucidate disease mechanism and disease modeling. Generation of unlimited quantity of patient's own heart cells, which allows us to understand the molecular and cellular mechanisms of various diseases.
b) Accelerate drug toxicity testing, and drug screening. We are using our stem cell-derived human cell studies to include co-culturing of neurons, oligodendrocytes, and astrocytes in the 3-D model of neural cells for examination of general anesthetic toxicity mechanisms. In addition, we are conducting feasibility studies on the use of apoptosis-sparing anesthetic protocol for longer surgeries in neonatal population at risk.
c) Implement personalized regenerative medicine. In the near future, instead of asking a patient to take a drug, we can test the drug on the patient's own stem tissue-derived cells first to find if the drug actually works, before giving the drug to the patient. Hence, the development of a library of patient-specific and disease-specific stem cells can be used to better predict drug toxicity, accelerate drug discovery, and lead to the transformative concept of "clinical trial in a dish" in the 21st century.
BIO
PRESENT TITLE: Professor, Departments of Anesthesiology and Physiology
Vice Chairman for Research
Dr. Bosnjak has authored more than 300 publications, book chapters, and reviews. The NIH has continually funded him since 1981. Currently, he is the Program Director on a Program Project Grant; functions as a Co-Investigator on several other R01 grants in the Department of Anesthesiology; and serves as advisor on several NIH training grants. His research has been deemed meritorious by the International Anesthesia Research Society; he received the B.B. Sankey Anesthesia Advancement Award in 1986, NIH Research Career Development Award in 1987 and the American Society of Anesthesiologists Award for Excellence in Research in 2008. His involvement in a variety of study sections and NIH committees, including Clinical Science Study Sections, Pharmacology Study Sections, and Surgery, Anesthesiology, and Trauma, attest to his scientific reputation. He has served as Chairman of the Surgery-Anesthesia-Trauma Study Section. Dr. Bosnjak has also participated on a National Institute on Drug Abuse Special Review Committees, a National Institute on Drug Abuse Contract Review Committees, National Advisory General Medical Sciences Council, President and Councilor of Foundation for Anesthesia Education and Research Academy of Research Mentors in Anesthesiology, and is frequent Chairman/Member of site visit teams for the NIH National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute and National Institute of General Medical Sciences.