Meet Dr. White, a true trailblazer in the field of aging and regenerative medicine. With over 20 years of experience working with stem cells, regenerative cells, and tissue regeneration, he's considered one of the leading experts in the industry.
Dr. White's journey started in Liverpool at John Moores University where he earned his BSc and subsequently his MSc at Liverpool School of Tropical Medicine in Applied Parasitology and Medical Entomology in 1999. He pursued his interest in parasite-host interactions by accepting a research assistant position at Dartmouth College in the USA where he studied c. elegans, a model organism for parasitic nematodes. He then went on to study the human immune system at Harvard University working with hematopoietic stem cells and immune cell biology, under the mentorship of the world-renowned Dr. Laurie Glimcher. Together, they co-authored several high-impact, peer-reviewed scientific manuscripts. Dr. White's interest in cell-signalling and immunology evolved into studying stem cells and regenerative medicine, which led him to pursue a Ph.D. at the Ansary Stem Cell Institute, Division of Regenerative Medicine at Cornell University. It was here that he developed an in vitro method for culture expanding autologous hematopoietic stem cells in an artificial vascular niche, which has been commercialized by Cornell University to treat cancer patients who have undergone bone marrow ablation following chemo- or radio-therapy. This groundbreaking technology and has been described in several co-authored manuscripts and research grants awarded by the NIH.
Following his Ph.D., Dr. White spent time in the embryonic stem cell laboratory of Dr. Stephen Dalton, whose pioneering work led to the inclusion of c-myc as one of the four factors used by Nobel award-winning Dr. Shinya Yamanaka in the generation of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs).
Dr. White's impressive career brought him to the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute at the University of Miami's Miller School of Medicine, where he collaborated with Dr. Joshua Hare on groundbreaking research in the field of cardiac regenerative medicine. Together, they even wrote a book chapter on the use of Mesenchymal Signalling Cells (MSCs) in cardiology. In 2015, their work on heart regeneration was featured on the cover of Circulation Research, one of the top peer-reviewed journals for cardiovascular medicine in the world. The following year, Dr. White was honored with an award for "Best Manuscript" by the American Heart Association for his work highlighting the role of peripheral nerves in cardiac regeneration. Subsequent work, featured on the cover of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, described a novel method for extending the life of explanted mouse hearts and even demonstrated de-novo regeneration, which before had never been observed in the mammalian heart.
Today, Dr. White is the founder, CEO and CSO of Neobiosis, LLC, a perinatal regenerative tissue research and manufacturing CDMO. He's also the Vice President and member of the board of directors of the American College of Regenerative Medicine and the co-founder of the Space-Aging Research Institute (SARI) a not-for-profit focused on winning the upcoming XPRIZE for improving human health span. Dr. White's passion and expertise continue to lead the way in the field of regenerative medicine, and his groundbreaking work has the potential to transform the way we approach aging and disease. And it all started at LSTM where he credits his MSc for inspiring him to study how cellular signalling in human diseases holds the clues for finding novel therapeutic treatments and cures.
For students interested in joining LSTM, Dr. White’s advice is clear “Soak it up! There are few institutions like LSTM and none with the history. It's an opportunity to be part of that history and learn from some of the best instructors in the world.”