Seminar Review

I went to the Hal Broxmeyer seminar on Friday at NCI-Frederick. The seminar was, in my opinion, lightly attended, which surprised me a little given the Rock Star status I give Dr Broxmeyer. I would estimate there were about 30 people in attendance in a half full auditorium.

Dr Broxmeyer is a pioneer in the field of Umbilical Cord blood transplants and is now devoting a large degree of effort into ES cells to help unravel some of the underlying mechanisms of hematopoeitic stem cell engraftment.

The seminar provided an informative, chronological overview of UCB transplants. I was a bit surprised that there wasn’t a bit more regarding somatic cell potential of UCB extractions, rather than merely hematopoeisis. Not to discount the significance of the discoveries and therapeutic potential of hematopoeitic reconstitution.