Stem Cell Training in LifeLab™ Centers
Each workshop is limited to 8 attendees to provide a comfortable learning experience and allow for personalized interactions between the trainers and attendees. |
Agenda
Each LifeLab™ Pluripotent Stem Cell Workshop is structured as a three-day course with both lecture and hands-on laboratory work. Our expert trainers will guide you through a variety of stem cell techniques and work with you 1:1 to help ensure you are successful in learning these new methods. You will receive a detailed course guide, containing all lecture materials, laboratory protocols, and troubleshooting tips, so you can get started right away when you return to your lab. And even though we take training very seriously, we might add in some fun things for you to take home as well! |
Workshop agenda topics include:
- Basic maintenance and care of hESC and iPSCs
- Freezing, thawing, plating, and passaging techniques
- Culturing PSCs under feeder-dependent and feeder-free conditions
- Reprogramming and identification of iPSCs
- Differentiation and characterization methods for PSCs
LifeLab™Stem Cell Workshop Agenda
“The workshop is very comprehensive and informative. The trainers are very accommodating and efficient. Life Technologies reagents are excellent and optimized.”
- 2012 Attendee
“Very friendly and approachable. Helpful and knowledgeable. Didn’t push to sell products, but outlined the benefits and how/why they were developed.”
- 2013 Attendee
Meet the LifeLab™ Trainers
| Dr. Nirupama (Rupa) Shevde is the Customer Training Manager in the Primary and Stem Cell Systems group at Life Technologies. She obtained her doctorate at Harvard University and her postdoctoral training at USCD and Ligand Pharmaceuticals in San Diego, CA. She has extensive experience in both mouse and human pluripotent stem cell research and served as a Senior Scientist and Director of Education at WiCell Research Institute and Morgridge Institute for Research since 2005 until July 2012. Under the scientific leadership of Dr. James Thomson, Rupa developed the Stem Cell Training Course which has served over 800 scientists from 32 US states and 20 countries. Most recently, Rupa was able to work in Dr. Thomson’s laboratory and gain expertise in the novel Essential 8™ Medium, Vitronectin (VTN-N) substrate and non-integrating episomal reprogramming technology developed by Dr. James Thomson and marketed by Life Technologies. | |
 | Tori Barron is a staff scientist in the Primary and Stem Cell Systems group at Life Technologies, where her primary focus has been xeno-free derivation and characterization of neural stem cells and astrocyte precursors from human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). She holds a Master of Science degree in Biotechnology from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, and her experience includes over seven years of research with hESCs and human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSCs), studying genetic characterization and signaling pathways of pluripotency versus differentiation. In addition, Tori has developed course curricula and is an adjunct faculty instructor for the Madison College Stem Cell Certification Program. | |
 | Andrew Fontes has been with Life Technologies for five years within the Primary and Stem Cells Systems group. Previously working with infectious diseases, he transitioned to stem cells as a molecular biologist focusing on engineering and characterization methods. He currently works with cellular reprogramming of new cell types using nonintegrating systems. His research interests involve epigenetic regulation of cellular reprogramming and the creation of disease models. | |
 | Dr. Uma Lakshmipathy has been involved in the stem cell field for nearly 10 years. Her doctoral degree in molecular biophysics and subsequent postdoctorate in DNA repair led her to the promising area of stem cell research. As a junior faculty member at the University of Minnesota Stem Cell Institute, she identified efficient gene delivery methods into stem cells. She moved to Life Technologies in 2005 and helped develop novel cell engineering platforms. Her current research interests are regulators of stem cell maintenance and the development of new technologies for identification, characterization, and differentiation of stem cells. | |
 | Chad MacArthur is an R&D scientist for Life Technologies in the Primary and Stem Cell Systems group. Over the past four years, Chad’s research has focused on stem cell biology, cell engineering, reprogramming technologies, and pluripotent stem cell media development. Prior to working for Life Technologies, Chad obtained a Master of Science degree in Biochemistry at California State University–Long Beach, where his research focused on enzyme inhibitors and kinetics, drug discovery, and cell biology. | |
 | Marian S. Piekarczyk is a staff scientist in the Primary and Stem Cell Systems group at Life Technologies. She has been involved in human stem cell research for nearly a decade. Prior to joining Life Technologies, she was Assistant Director of Operations at WiCell Research Institute, the nonprofit institute founded by Dr. James Thomson and the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF). Her current research involves stem cell reprogramming and directed neural differentiation. Marian holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Animal Science from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Business Administration degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison. | |
 | Rene H. Quintanilla, Jr. is a Research and Development scientist for the Primary and Stem Cell Systems group at Life Technologies. His expertise extends to gene delivery methods, reprogramming, and cellular characterizations of pluripotent stem cells. Recent interests include molecular characterization of pluripotent stem cells, workflow solutions, and protocol simplification. Prior to joining Life Technologies, he was involved in over six years of professional basic research in academia in the fields of enzymology, stem cell biochemistry and neurogenesis, molecular genomics, and kinase biochemistry. | |
 | Laurie J. Reichling is a scientist with the Primary and Stem Cell Systems group at Life Technologies. Her research over the past eight years has focused primarily on drug discovery solutions related to kinase biochemistry. Laurie has been working with human pluripotent stem cells for over a year, with a primary research interest in pluripotent stem cell media development, cellular characterization of pluripotent stem cells, workflow solutions, and using non-integrating reprogramming systems in the creation of human disease models. |
Workshop Packages
Whether you are a local attendee or traveling to join us, we have an option for you.
1. Workshop & hotel - $1,750 US courses / £1100 UK course
Three day workshop plus hotel accommodations, breakfast/lunch each day, two
group dinners, and transportation to and from workshop/hotel/dinner.
2. Workshop only - $1,350 US courses / £900 UK course
Three day workshop plus two group dinners. Lunch and dinner are included.
Travel, hotel accommodations, and other incidental expenses relating to the workshop are the responsibility of the attendee.
Full package details including hotel location, travel and city information, attire, guest policy, meals, and special requests can be found on the individual registration pages for each upcoming workshop.
