Ann Tsukamoto

Ann Tsukamoto (born on July 6, 1952 in Los Angeles County),[1] is an inventor and stem cell researcher. While working at SyStemix in the early 90s, Tsukamoto and her colleagues, Yukoh Aihara, Charles M. Baum, and Irving Weissman, made a vital breakthrough in cancer research when they isolated blood-forming stem cells (hematopoietic stem cells). Consequently, they received a patent for their isolation technique of human hematopoietic stem cells in 1991.[2][3] She holds 12 patents related to human hematopoietic stem cells, pancreatic stem cells, and human neural stem cells.[2] She is married to research colleague Irving Weissman.[4]

Ann Tsukamoto
Born6 July, 1952
Alma materUniversity of California San Diego
University of California Los Angeles
Scientific career
FieldsStem cell biology
InstitutionsUniversity of California San Francisco
SyStemix, Inc.
StemCells, Inc.

Education

Tsukamoto got her undergraduate degree from the University of California, San Diego. She attended the University of California, Los Angeles, where she received her Ph.D. in microbiology and immunology.[5] Dr. Tsukamoto conducted her postdoctoral work on the wnt-1 gene and a transgenic model for breast cancer at the University of California, San Francisco with Nobel Laureate, Dr. Harold Varmus.[5]

Career

Tsukamoto joined SyStemix, a biotech company, from 1989-1997.[5] In the early 90s, Tsukamoto and her colleagues made a vital breakthrough in cancer research when they isolated blood-forming stem cells. They went on to patent their human hematopoietic stem cells isolation technique in 1991.[2][6] StemCells, Inc., closed in August 2016 due to many challenges developing a cell therapy in a small biotech firm. During her time at StemCells, Inc., Tsukamoto “led the team that discovered the human central nervous system stem cell (HuCNS-SC®) and a second candidate stem cell for the liver and that transitioned the human neural stem cell into early clinical development in all three components of the CNS: brain, spinal cord, and eye”.[3]

Innovation

Tsukamoto helped invent a method to isolate blood stem cells in the body. Blood stem cells are immature cells found in bone marrow and peripheral blood that can develop into all types of blood cells: white blood cells, red blood cells, and platelets.[7] These blood cells then mature and function as needed.[8] Prior to this innovation, scientists had theories about the applications of hematopoietic stem cells to treat various diseases and save lives. However, researchers were unable to study hematopoietic stem cells since they had no way to isolate them.[9]


Thanks to Tsukamoto’s discovery and innovation, stem cell research is advancing and blood stem cell transplants (also referred to as bone marrow transplants or stem cell transports) have been used to treat people with a variety of life-threatening diseases like blood cancers and autoimmune diseases.[10] Stem cell transplants help cancer patients make new blood cells since radiation therapy and chemotherapy killed their own hematopoietic stem cells.[10] Researchers believe that stem cells can be used in regenerative medicine to help new tissue, which might be able to help treat people with chronic heart disease.[10] Researchers also believe that stem cells can play a role in the treatment of type 1 diabetes, Alzheimer's disease, spinal cord injuries, and rheumatoid arthritis.[10]

References
  1. California Birth Index. (2020). Ann Tsukamoto. Retrieved 11-24-2020 from https://www.californiabirthindex.org/birth/ann_tsukamoto_born_1952_4800962
  2. Ann Tsukamoto Inventions, Patents and Patent Applications - Justia Patents Search. (n.d.). Retrieved December 01, 2020, from https://patents.justia.com/inventor/ann-tsukamoto
  3. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine; Health and Medicine Division; Board on Health Sciences Policy; Forum on Regenerative Medicine. (2017, March 15). B Speaker Biographical Sketches. In Exploring the state of the science in the field of regenerative medicine: Challenges of and opportunities for cellular therapies: Proceedings of a workshop. Washington, DC, March: The National Academies Press. Retrieved December 1, 2020, from https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK436801/
  4. Weissman, I. (2016). How one thing led to another. Annual Review of Immunology, 34, 1-30.
  5. Calos, M. (2014). BIOS 206 Brief Speaker Biographies. Stanford University. Retrieved December 01, 2020, from http://web.stanford.edu/~calos/Course%20Webpage_files/BIOS%20206%20Speaker%20Biographies%20%281%29.pdf
  6. StemCells, Inc. (2013). 2013 8-K form. Retrieved December 01, 2020, from https://sec.report/Document/0001299933-13-001100/
  7. NCI Dictionary of Cancer Terms. (n.d.). National Cancer Institute. Retrieved December 1, 2020, from https://www.cancer.gov/publications/dictionaries/cancer-terms/def/blood-stem-cell.
  8. What Are Stem Cells? (n.d.). Stanford Children’s Health. Retrieved December 1, 2020, from https://www.stanfordchildrens.org/en/topic/default?id=what-are-stem-cells-160-38#:%7E:text=The%20only%20stem%20cells%20now,mature%20and%20function%20as%20needed
  9. Advancing Society: Women and STEM. (n.d.). Intellectual Ventures. Retrieved December 1, 2020, from https://www.intellectualventures.com/buzz/insights/advancing-society-women-and-stem/#:%7E:text=That’s%20where%20Ann%20Tsukamoto%20came,cancers%20and%20other%20deadly%20diseases
  10. Blood stem cells: the pioneers of stem cell research. (2018, May 2). Eurostemcell. Retrieved December 1, 2020, from https://www.eurostemcell.org/blood-stem-cells-pioneers-stem-cell-research
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.