Stem Cell Laboratory Techniques: A Guide for Researchers and Students

Suresh Kumar Kailasa, FRSC, is an Associate Professor of the Department of Chemistry at Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology (SVNIT) Surat, Gujrat, India. He obtained Master of Science in Chemistry of Natural Products from Sri Krishnadeveraya University, Andhra Pradesh, India and PhD in Chemistry from Sri Venkateswara University, Tirupati, Andhra Pradesh, India. After completing two Postdoctoral Fellowships at Chonbuk University, South Korea and at National Sun Yat-Sen University, Taiwan, he joined as an Assistant Professor at SVNIT, Surat in 2009. He received Young Scientist Award from Taiwan Mass Spectrometry Society in 2013. He was Visiting Research Professor (June 2022 – July 2022 & May 2019 – July 2019) and Research Professor (January 2018 – September 2018) at Department of Chemistry, Chung-Ang University, Seoul, South Korea. He worked as a Visiting Scientist at Department of Chemistry, National Sun Yat-sen University, Taiwan in 2010. He was selected as a Brain Pool Scientist at the Department of Chemistry, Chung-Ang University, South Korea under Korean Brain Pool Invitation Program of KOFST in 2017 and 2023. He was selected as a Fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry, The Royal Society of Chemistry, UK and Fellow of the Society of Pesticide Science India in 2019. He was also selected as a life member of the National Academy of Sciences, India (NASI), India in 2021. He acted as Guest Editor in the special issues in Applied Sciences (MDPI), Materials Today Chemistry, Inorganic Chemistry Communications (Elsevier) and Environmental Science and Pollution Research (Springer). He is acting as an Advisory Board Member, Sensors and Diagnostics (RSC Publications) since 2023. He is the author of 240 peer-reviewed papers and is the co-inventor of a Taiwan Patent. He has a h-index of 59 and has accumulated over 11163 citations. Recently, he has been featured in the top 2% scientists that has been compiled by Stanford University in the USA. His research interest in the field of analytical chemistry, MALDI-MS, ESI-MS, microextraction, nanosensors, drug delivery, surface modifications of nanostructure materials, functional nanomaterials for the development of new analytical strategies.

Prof. Higuchi is a distinguished Professor in National Central University, a guest researcher in RIKEN (Japan) and National Research Center for Child Health and Development (Tokyo), and a visiting professor in King Saud University (Saudi Arabia) and Wenzhou Medical University (China). He received his Ph.D. in Tokyo Institute of Technology in 1985. He was a Professor in Seikei University (Tokyo) from 1993 to 2007. He received Sofue Memorial Award from Society of Fiber Science, Japan in 1994, Seikei Academic Award from Seikei Alumni Association in 2003, and Nanotechnology Outstanding Contribution Award, National Science Council, Taiwan in 2013, Future Tech Breakthrough Award in 2019, Ministry of Science and Technology, Taiwan. He also received Outstanding Scientific Award, Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine International Society, Asia Pacific region (TERMIS-AP) in 2021. He is a fellow of Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC, England), a fellow of Taiwan Chemical Engineering Society, and a fellow of American Institute for Medical & Biological Engineering (AIMBE, USA). He is interested in the development of materials for stem cell culture and differentiation. He established purification method of hematopoietic stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells from umbilical cord blood and adipose tissue, respectively by filtration method through polymeric porous membranes. He is also developing biomaterials for stem cell culture and differentiation. He emphasized the important function of cell culture biomaterials, which guide differentiation fate of human pluripotent stem cells and mesenchymal stem cells into specific lineage of the cells. He developed ECM-derived peptide-immobilized hydrogels having adjustable elasticity for culture and differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells. He is now developing universal (hypoimmunogenic) human pluripotent stem cells on specific ECM-coated surface. He is an advisory board of Journal of Materials Chemistry B (RSC), an Editor of Open Physics, Editorial Board of Laboratory Investigation, Editorial Board of Tissue Engineering and Regenerative Medicine, and Associate Editor of IET Nanobiotechnology.

Dr. Mok received her PhD award from National University of Malaysia, Malaysia in 2012. She joined the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Malaysia in 2013 and is currently an Associate Professor in the Department of Biomedical Science. She also has previously served as an Assistant Professor in Jouf University, Saudi Arabia from 2017 to 2021. She is also the founding Vice President of Malaysian Stem Cell for Research and Therapy (MSCRT) association. Dr. Mok has passion for researches involving stem cell engineering at the genetic, cell and tissue level involving human samples with aim to improve the quality of life in the patients. Most of her research works integrated many methods that include genetic modifications, use of biomaterials and tissue engineering for optimal result outcomes. Her current research focus is to find alternative treatment for visual impairment using stem cells. Other than that, she is also conducting research on cancer targeting by using CRISPR-Cas technology and introduction of chimeric antigen receptor into immune effector cells.