Webinars & Presentations
Webinars & Presentations
New and informative webinars are in the works! Don’t miss out…if you haven’t already done so, SIGN UP to receive notification and information about upcoming events.
- World Class Expert Guest Speakers & Moderators.
- Most webinars are moderated by Summit Science and Educational Chair, Jeanne Loring, PhD .
- Thanks to the generosity of Summit Supporters and sponsors, webinars are FREE
- Patients, Medical Professionals, Researchers, Students, & Public – EVERYONE is Welcome!
- For more information about our Webinar Planning Committee, please go to the SUMMIT TEAM page.
- Please note: Content, date, and time are subject to change.
This recent webinar provides the most recent update on the autologous cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease’s (PD) progress and its clinical trial progress. Summit for Stem Cell Foundation supported the autologous cell therapy for PD in its earlier stages as a research project (Autologous Cell-based therapy for Parkinson’s disease) until, as a part of the team, helped found Aspen Neuroscience.
In Spring 2024, the autologous cell therapy for PD received FDA IND clearance and Fast Track Designation and Phase 1/2a for ANPD001 and is now completed!
Aspen Neuroscience is now preparing to begin the next phase of the clinical trial process.
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- Questions can be submitted at the time of registration.
- LIVE questions are welcome during the “Panel Discussion” portion of each webinar.
- Please be sure to check for “Hand-outs”, Surveys, or Documents to download at the time of registration and/or when you enter the webinar.
OUR MOST RECENT WEBINAR
The Latest Clinical Updates from Aspen Neuroscience and the ASPIRO Study
Original broadcast date: 27 January 2026
Moderated by: Jeanne Loring, PhD (Science and Education Chair for Summit for Stem Cell Foundation)
Amin Boroujerdi Ph.D., Senior Director, Medical Affairs
Dr. Amin Boroujerdi has a comprehensive background in neuroscience research and medical affairs, both in academia as well as in biopharma. He earned his doctorate at the University of California, Irvine, studying novel molecules involved in nerve injury‑induced neuropathic pain, and completed a postdoctoral fellowship at The Scripps Research Institute on cell adhesion molecules in neurodegenerative diseases. With more than a decade in medical affairs, Amin has played an integral role in successful product launches, including Botox® for spasticity, movement disorders, and neurogenic overactive bladder.
Avram Fraint, MD – Senior Medical Director
Dr. Avram Fraint is a fellowship‑trained movement disorders neurologist with specialized expertise in deep brain stimulation (DBS). He completed medical training at Rush University in Chicago, followed by a movement disorders fellowship, and served as a Movement Disorders Neurologist at Northwestern University beginning in August 2018. Avram directed Northwestern’s advanced therapeutics program before joining Aspen in July 2023, where he continues to advance patient‑centered innovation in Parkinson’s disease care.
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PART 3 OF SERIES: “CELL THERAPY FOR PD”
UPDATE: Unproven Stem Cell Clinics
Aired: 01/14/2025
Featured Guest Speakers: Paul Knoepfler, PhD
Moderator: Jeanne Loring, PhD
Panelists: Rita Ceponiene, MD, PhD; Melissa King, MBA; Jenifer Raub, President, Summit for Stem Cell Foundation
What is an “Unproven Stem Cell Clinic” ?
How can I find out if a clinic is for real?
What do these clinics actually use for treatments? Are they using real stem cells?
How can these clinics be allowed to continue? Who provides oversight?
How can I protect myself as a patient from victimization?
Answers to these questions and more! Discover this growing challenge for people with unmet medical needs.
Paul Knoepfler, PhD – Professor, Department of Cell Biology and Human Anatomy, the Genome Center, and the Comprehensive Cancer Center at the University of California, Davis School of Medicine, and author of The Niche
PART 2 OF SERIES: “CELL THERAPY FOR PD”
Update: Cell Therapy for Parkinson’s disease in Clinical Trials – A Year Later…
Aired: 12/17/2024
Featured Guest Speakers: Damien McDevitt, PhD; Lisa Johnson-Pratt, MD
Moderator: Jeanne Loring, PhD
Panelists: Rita Ceponiene, MD, PhD; Melissa King, MBA; Jenifer Raub, President, Summit for Stem Cell Foundation
An update from Aspen Neuroscience and an overview of the highly anticipated autologous cell therapy for Parkinson’s disease now treating patients in a Phase 1/2a Clinical Trial of ANPD001.
ANPD001 is a novel, personalized, regenerative cell therapy. It is composed of dopaminergic neuron precursor cells (DANPCs) derived from autologous induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from the skin biopsies of PD patients.
Summit Board Member Dr. Jeanne Loring founded Aspen Neuroscience in 2018.
Damien McDevitt, PhD – President and Chief Executive Officer
A distinguished leader in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry sectors, Damien is recognized for his vision, strategic planning, and corporate leadership. With a career spanning more than 25 years, he has served in multiple board and executive leadership roles including most recently as CEO of rare diseases company Akcea Therapeutics, Inc.
Prior to joining Akcea, Damien held senior executive roles at Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Acadia Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals. Damien received his BA and PhD at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, and completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at the Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Texas A&M.
Lisa Johnson-Pratt, MD – Senior Vice President, Therapeutic Program Lead
An industry leader with more than 25 years of experience, Dr. Johnson-Pratt is a senior drug development, clinical and commercial expert. Lisa has successfully led programs across the entire product life cycle, including in medical affairs, clinical development, product development, portfolio planning and new product strategy for organizations from small biotechs to large pharmaceutical companies, including as the Global Dermatology Portfolio Leader, for Merck, head of Global Commercial Pharma Centers of excellence and head of Early Pipeline Commercial Strategy for GSK, and the head of New Product Strategy for Akcea Therapeutics and Ionis Pharmaceuticals. Lisa is a board director at Assembly Bio and Tracon Pharma, and is the board chair of Young People in Recovery.
Dr. Johnson-Pratt received her Bachelor of Science and Doctor of Medicine degrees from Howard University, with further post-doctoral training in Internal Medicine, Clinical Pharmacology and Pharmaceutical Medicine.
PART 1 OF SERIES: “CELL THERAPY FOR PD”
Cell Transplantation: De-Mystifying the Surgical Procedure
Aired: 11/04/2024
Featured Guest Speaker: Paul Larson, MD, FAANS
Moderator: Jeanne Loring, PhD
Panelists: Rita Ceponiene, MD, PhD; Melissa King, MBA; Jenifer Raub, President, Summit for Stem Cell Foundation
Dr. Larson will talk about the surgical procedure for the cell-based therapies, why it is necessary, how these procedures are similar to DBS and discuss the safety profile of surgery.
Paul Larson, MD, FANNS is a Professor of Neurosurgery at the University of Arizona and Clinical Director of Neurosurgery at the Southern Arizona VA Health Care System. Dr. Larson specializes in functional neurosurgery, specifically deep brain stimulation for a variety of neurological disorders. He is a pioneer in the field of interventional field of interventional MRI-guided stereotaxy and has performed well over 1,000 iMRI procedures. His research team has been the solo or lead group in 12 gene therapy and cell transplantation clinical trials since 2004 and has the world’s largest experience in intracranial delivery of novel therapeutics for neurodegenerative disorders. Dr. Larson and colleagues pioneered most of the surgical hardware and delivery techniques currently in use for CNS gene and cell-based trials.
PART 2 OF SERIES: CELL THERAPY FOR PD”
Update: Cell Based Therapies Around the World
AIRED: Thursday. December 7th, 2023
FEATURED SPEAKER: Claire Henchcliffe, M.D., D.Phi
In the realm of Parkinson’s disease research, there is a notable resurgence of interest in experimental cell-based approaches to therapy, particularly in the context of transplant procedures. Recent strides in stem cell technology allow almost unlimited and highly controlled production of dopamine neurons and their progenitors. Now, multiple research groups are revisiting the potential of transplanting cells into the putamen of patients with Parkinson’s disease, aiming to replace damaged dopamine neuronal inputs with healthy stem cell-derived ones. The hope is that such experimental therapies, whether derived from human embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent cells, or other sources, may alleviate dopa-responsive symptoms with a one-time surgical transplant procedure. We predict that this would alleviate “off time” for patients whose medications do not provide for smooth symptom control. Concurrently, another avenue under investigation involves the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), that may provide benefit via a fundamentally different mechanism of action. Clinical trials are now underway globally to rigorously test safety and tolerability of these innovative interventions, and to gain initial information on the behavior and clinical effects of these interventions.
Claire Henchcliffe, M.D., D.Phil. is the Chair and Stanley van den Noort Professor of Neurology, University of California, Irvine since 2020. Prior to this, she spent 17 years at Weill Cornell Medical College (WCMC)/New York Presbyterian Hospital, New York City, becoming Professor of Neurology and Neuroscience, and Vice Chair for Clinical Research in Neurology. Her clinical and research focus is on Parkinson’s disease and related neurodegenerative disorders, including working to develop new Parkinson’s disease therapeutics such as stem cell-based and gene therapy interventions.
PART 1 OF SERIES: “CELL THERAPY FOR PD”
Aspen Neuroscience
Autologous Cell Therapy for Parkinson’s disease:
Recent Updates from Aspen Neuroscience and an Overview of Autologous Cell Therapy
Aired: 11/09/2023
Featured Guest Speakers:
Damien McDevitt, PhD – President & Chief Executive Officer, Aspen Neuroscience
Ana Sousa – Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs & Quality
Moderator: Jeanne Loring, PhD
Panelists: Rita Ceponiene, MD, PhD; Melissa King, MBA; Jenifer Raub, President, Summit for Stem Cell Foundation
Parkinson’s Disease is a neurodegenerative disease caused by loss of dopaminergic (DA) neurons in the nigrostriatal pathway that leads to progressive loss of motor and neurological function. It is the second most common neurodegenerative movement disorder (after Alzheimer’s), affecting 1 million people in the U.S. alone. PD symptoms (impairments in movement, coordination, speech, and cognition) severely affect quality of life and patient life span. Current therapies are not curative, decrease in effectiveness over time, and can have side effects that impact patient quality of life. Since motor symptom severity correlates with the loss of DA neurons, cell replacement therapy holds great promise for restoring brain function.
ANPD001 is a novel, personalized, regenerative cell therapy. It is composed of dopaminergic neuron precursor cells (DANPCs) derived from autologous induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) from the skin biopsies of PD patients. Aspen’s preclinical data shows that DANPCs transplanted into animal models differentiate into DA neurons that integrate into the brain and halt of reverse PD symptoms. This year ANPD001 received FDA IND clearance in August and Fast Track Designation in October. In 2022, Aspen established an interventional trial-ready cohort screening study, and screened and recruited people with mid-stage to moderately advanced sporadic PD, and collected skin biopsies. We are now generating iPSCs from these biopsies and manufacturing clinical-grade ANPD001. To support the first cohort, ANPD001 for three (3) patients has been manufactured.
More information about the Phase 1/2a study will be announced soon.
Damien McDevitt, PhD – President and Chief Executive Officer
A distinguished leader in the biotech and pharmaceutical industry sectors, Damien is recognized for his vision, strategic planning, and corporate leadership. With a career spanning more than 25 years, he has served in multiple board and executive leadership roles including most recently as CEO of rare diseases company Akcea Therapeutics, Inc.
Prior to joining Akcea, Damien held senior executive roles at Ionis Pharmaceuticals, Acadia Pharmaceuticals and GlaxoSmithKline Pharmaceuticals. Damien received his BA and PhD at Trinity College Dublin, Ireland, and completed a post-doctoral research fellowship at the Institute of Biosciences and Technology, Texas A&M.
Ana Sousa, MSJ – Senior Vice President, Regulatory Affairs and Quality
Ana Sousa brings a depth of expertise to her role as Senior Vice President of Regulatory Affairs for Aspen Neuroscience. With twenty years of experience in global regulatory affairs, Ana combines large company experience with the agility of a small biotech mindset. Prior to Aspen, Ana led Global Regulatory Affairs and Quality for Principia Biopharma, where she focused on bringing transformative therapies to patients with serious immune-mediated diseases by changing the way small molecules are developed. Prior to Principia she held positions of increased leadership with Immune Design, Onyx Pharmaceuticals, and Genentech-Roche.
Ana received her undergraduate degree at Pace University, Lubin School of Business, and her Master of Science in Jurisprudence (MSJ) degree with a concentration in Health Law and Intellectual Property at The Seton Hall University School of Law.
About Summit’s Educational Programs:
It is important to Summit that you, your medical team, and your caregivers understand stem cells and stem cell-based therapies (cell therapies) when considering treatment options. We provide:
Educational Webinars are designed to bridge the educational gap between fast-paced scientific discoveries and the public and especially, the medical community.
Featuring globally respected and renowned speakers providing information on current topics.
Reliable information and updates on stem cells and regenerative medical research – including clinical trial information as we receive it.
Thanks to the generosity of our SPONSORS, our webinars are FREE to everyone.
Our attendees are from all over the United States and from around the globe. They include members of the medical community, patients, caregivers, academia, research & pharmacology communities, students, and, ultimately, anyone interested in the great strides being made in the field of regenerative medicine and stem cells.
To view past Webinars: Click HERE_ Educational Programs
Special thanks to CRIM (California Institute for Regenerative Medicine) for funding, in part, this educational webinar program.
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