I have been fascinated by the potential of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSC) generated from a patient’s sample to produce readily available in vitro models that can give a deeper insight into their particular condition since I first worked with them during my MSc internship in NUIG. My PhD research in the Vrije University Amsterdam was focused on the development on an iPSC derived model for renal glomerular toxicity particularly focusing on podocytes. Our understanding of the mechanism of podocyte injury is somewhat limited due to difficulty to maintain in culture. Our quick, one-step podocyte differentiation could overcome this limitation as iPSC are expanded prior to differentiations as required. As part of the Living Lung lab, I am getting to continue this interest as part of the STAR-TEL project, investigating short telomere-related lung fibrosis using a patient-derived iPSC model.

Email: cormacmurphy@rcsi.ie