Year 1

In the first year of funding, we have made excellent progress towards our goal of deriving pluripotent stem cell lines from human embryos. We have generated twenty new human embryonic stem cell lines in total, with eight of these new lines carrying a genetic abnormality identified by pre-implantation genetic diagnosis (PGD) or pre-implantation genetic screening (PGS) in the embryo, which was subsequently confirmed in the established embryonic stem cell line. These aneuploid lines represent new cell-based models of human disease. We have also confirmed the fidelity of a feeder-free system with which to derive new pluripotent stem cell lines towards the generation of standard operating procedures for current good manufacturing practice of embryonic stem cell derivation and maintenance.