A stem cell is defined by two properties: it can self-renew (divide to produce another stem cell) and it can differentiate (produce at least one specialised cell type). Every cell in the body traces its lineage, through a small number of divisions, to a stem cell. Our new ten-module Stem Cells course covers this biology from the foundational experiments of the 1960s to the iPSC-derived clinical trials of the 2020s.
Ten Modules
- M0 — What Is a Stem Cell? Till & McCulloch 1961 CFU-S assay, the potency hierarchy, division modes, population vs cellular asymmetry.
- M1 — Embryonic & Pluripotency: Evans 1981, Thomson 1998 first human ESC line, the Oct4/Sox2/Nanog core circuit, naive vs primed, teratoma assay.
- M2 — iPSC & Yamanaka Reprogramming: the 2006 four factors, Gurdon/Yamanaka 2012 Nobel, reprogramming barriers, integration-free methods, transdifferentiation.
- M3 — Adult Stem Cells & Niches: Schofield 1978, the major signalling axes (WNT, Notch, BMP, Hedgehog, FGF), Engler 2006 matrix-stiffness mechanotransduction. Embeds the Heisenberg/mechanical-forces lecture.
- M4 — Skin & Epithelial (Blanpain): interfollicular basal cells, hair-follicle bulge, the committed-progenitor model revising the classical hierarchy. Embeds Cédric Blanpain’s iBiology lecture.
- M5 — Haematopoietic (HSC): Weissman purification, the CMP/CLP hierarchy, bone marrow niches, BMT (Thomas 1990 Nobel), approved HSC gene therapies (Casgevy for sickle-cell 2023).
- M6 — Neural: SVZ and SGZ adult neurogenesis, the human-adult-hippocampal-neurogenesis controversy (Spalding vs Sorrells vs Moreno-Jiménez), clinical trials for Parkinson and ALS.
- M7 — Cancer Stem Cells: Bonnet-Dick 1997 AML, the CSC vs clonal-evolution debate, plasticity, therapeutic targeting, CAR-T.
- M8 — Organoids & Regenerative Medicine: Sato-Clevers 2009, Lancaster cerebral organoids, Zika microcephaly modelling, iPSC-RPE for AMD, dopaminergic neurons for Parkinson.
- M9 — Ethics & Clinical Trials: 14-day rule, ESC controversy and iPSC workaround, He Jiankui, clinical trial regulation, stem-cell tourism, access and equity.
Featured Videos
The course embeds two video lectures: Skin Stem Cells: Biology and Promise for Regenerative Medicine by Cédric Blanpain (ULB) on the landing page and in Module 4, and Stem Cells as Architects of Their Niches and Their Mechanical Forces in Module 3.
Simulations
Python simulations in every module: division-mode dynamics, Oct4/Sox2/Nanog bistable circuit, stochastic reprogramming kinetics, Engler-style stiffness-fate landscape, Clayton clonal dynamics (sqrt-t scaling), HSC hierarchy, adult neurogenesis vs age (Spalding), CSC limiting-dilution xenograft, clinical pipeline dashboard.