2006
Michael D. West, Ph.D.
Adjunct Professor of Bioengineering at the University of California, Berkeley | links |
Chairman of the Board, President
and Chief Scientific Officer
Advanced
Cell Technology, Inc. |
A biotechnology company applying
embryonic stem cell technology in the emerging field of regenerative medicine.
The company operates facilities in Alameda, California, and Worcester,
Massachusetts.
site: http://www.advancedcell.com
| Senior
Executives |
Dr. West has extensive academic
and business experience in age-related degenerative diseases, telomerase
molecular biology and human embryonic stem cell research and development.
Prior to joining ACT in 1998, Dr. West founded Geron Corporation of Menlo
Park, California (NASDAQ: GERN) and from 1990 to 1998 he was a Director
and Vice President, where he initiated and managed programs in telomerase
diagnostics, oligonucleotide-based telomerase inhibition as anti-tumor
therapy, and the cloning and use of telomerase in telomerase-mediated therapy
wherein telomerase is utilized to immortalize human cells. From 1995 to
1998 he organized and managed the research between Geron and its academic
collaborators James Thomson and John Gearhart that led to the first isolation
of human embryonic stem and human embryonic germ cells. Dr. West received
a B.S. Degree from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1976, an M.S. Degree
in Biology from Andrews University in 1982, and a Ph.D. from Baylor College
of Medicine in 1989 concentrating on the biology of cellular aging.
2001
Michael West - U.S.
Senate Hearing 2001 |
1998
Advanced
Cell Technology, Inc. |
1990 to 1998
Founder
Geron Corporation
of Menlo Park, California
1989
Baylor
College of Medicine |
Ph.D. from Baylor College of
Medicine in 1989 concentrating on the biology of cellular aging.
Baylor College of Medicine | One Baylor Plaza, Houston,
Texas 77030 | 713-798-4951
site: Biochemesty
| Cellular Aging
| Genetics
| Human Genome
|
1982
The University of Arkansas for Medical
Sciences | Little Rock
The University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences (UAMS) is part of the University of Arkansas System. UAMS has about 2,320 students in six academic units: the Colleges of Medicine, Pharmacy, Nursing, Health Related Professions, and Public Health and the Graduate School. UAMS also has more than 690 resident physicians completing their training at UAMS or at one of the seven Area Health Education Centers around the state.
UAMS is the state’s largest basic and applied research institution, with more than $107 million in annual research funding, grants and contracts and internationally renowned programs in multiple myeloma, aging, cancer and other areas.
The main campus is located at
4301 W. Markham Street, Little
Rock, Arkansas 72205-7199.
For more information call (501)
686-7000.
site: http://uams.edu/ |
Michael West
A doctoral student in biochemistry
University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences
Dr. Samuel Goldstein | cell biologist
Division of Gerontology Research, Department of Medicine,
UAMS, Little Rock, AR
Goldstein Lab | advanced genetic techniques to study
aging
Learned of the work of August Weismann
Friedrich Leopold August Weismann -- a German biologist.
Born January 17, 1834 in Frankfurt - November
5, 1914 in Freiburg
The germline / soma dichotomy was the origin of the
aging process
He called the immortal cells "germ line" cells
August Weismann
proposed that the original immortal single-cell organisms
have continued rolling on over millions of years,
spinning off a soma every generation
The soma is merely a transport vehicle
The germ line was immortal
and transported the genetic information
in its nucleus to the next generation,
while in every individual life cycle the genetic
information in the soma simply dies with the body.
August Weismann
Asked: What is the actual clockwork that causes the
human soma
to age and die?
August Weismann
"The Duration of Life" 1881 lecture
An Astonishing Prediction: while the germ-line cells of multicellular animals were immortal -- including human beings -- the somatic cells were intrinsically mortal somatic cells had the capacity to divide for only a finite number of divisions: "Death takes place because worn-out tissue cannot forever renew itself and because a capacity for increase by means of cell division is not everlasting but finite." August Weismann A Simple Proposition A milestone in the history of gerontological research The capacity of cells to divide is not infinite but finite August Weismann "I am unable to indicate the molecular or chemical properties of the cell upon which the duration of its power of reproduction depends August Weismann - did not know yet of: The discovery of the structure of DNA
Ernst Mayr ranked August Weismann the second most notable
evolutionary theorist of the 19th century, after Charles
Darwin.
1982
Andrews University | M.S. Degree in Biology |
Andrews University is a Seventh-day Adventist institution of higher education
Andrews University, Berrien Springs, MI 49104
1976
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute | B.S. Degree
Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (RPI), 110 8th St., Troy, NY 12180. (518) 276-6000