Mesenchymal Stem Cells and Extracellular Vesicles as Next-Generation Therapeutics: Basic Concepts, Clinical Applications, and Cross-Disciplinary Innovations

Dr. Naresh Kasoju is a Scientist at Sree Chitra Tirunal Institute for Medical Sciences and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, Kerala. He obtained his Ph.D. in Biotechnology from Indian Institute of Technology and postdoctoral experience from Institute of Macromolecular Chemistry, Prague, Czech Republic and University of Oxford, Oxford, UK. His research interests include mesenchymal stem cells-based therapeutics for regenerative medicine, natural polymers-based biomaterials for biomedical applications, and 3D bioprinting based approaches for tissue engineering. He filed 06 Indian patents and 03 Indian design registrations and has published 70+ articles, with 4500+ citations. He's editor of 3 books, guest editor for 3 special issues, editorial board member for 2 journals and reviewer for 50+ journals. He's a member of National Academy of Science, India and Royal Society of Biology, UK. Recently, he received Young Scientist Award by Indian Academy of Biomedical Sciences, Lucknow for his outstanding contributions in biomaterials, stem cells and tissue engineering.

Dr. Ramesh Bhonde joined Dr D Y Patil University, Pune, as Director (Research) in September 2016. Prior to that he served as Professor & Dean, at the School of Regenerative Medicine, Bangalore for the last 5 years. He retired from National Center for Cell Science Pune as Scientist ‘F’ and joined Stempeutics Research Pvt. Ltd. Bangalore as Technical Director, moving to Stempeutics Research Malaysia branch in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. He’s worked in the field of pancreatic regeneration in diabetes for the past 25 years. His areas of interest and expertise include stem cells, regenerative biology, tissue banking and engineering, with special reference to the cultivation of fastidious cells such as hepatocytes, vascular endothelial cells, and islets of Langerhans. He’s well trained in hESC and iPS technology. Dr. Bhonde authored 7 book chapters, and is a recipient of Dr. TMA Pai Endowment Chair in Islet Engineering & Banking in October 2013.