Derivation and Culture of Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells (hiPSCs)

Established in 2015 in collaboration with the UK Stem Cell Bank and Wellcome Sanger Institute Cellular Generation and Phenotyping core facility, this 5-day course includes practical, laboratory-based training sessions, lectures and discussions covering current theory and best practices with regard to derivation, culture and characterisation of human induced pluripotent stem cells  (hiPSCs).

Learning Outcomes

After attending this course, participants should be able to:

• Recognise key principles of GCCP and aseptic processing including the role of antibiotics
• Assess and identify key advantages, disadvantages  and critical elements of different approaches to somatic cell reprogramming
• Assess and identify undifferentiated, fully reprogrammed iPSCs compared to partially reprogrammed iPSC colonies
• Recognise critical aspects for successful preservation and storage
• Evaluate the recovery of iPSCs and identify viable cells
• Identify undifferentiated morphology of confluent iPSCs ready for passaging
• Identify and troubleshoot critical aspects in the passaging and maintenance of undifferentiated iPSCs
• Recognise the importance of core QC and potential consequences of failing to carry it out
• Evaluate different capabilities of each method of determining potential pluripotency
• Understand the basic principles of flow cytometry and its application to iPSC

The programme will include practical laboratory sessions,  lectures and discussions covering the following topics:

• Good Cell Culture Practice (GCCP) and aseptic processing
• Approaches for reprogramming of somatic cells (reprogramming methodologies – virus and episomal; somatic cell types – skin fibroblasts and PBMCs)
• Lectures on application of iPSC cells in disease modelling, genome editing and differentiation
• Cryopreservation and recovery
• Passaging
• Quality control (identity, karyology, mycoplasma, sterility, cell markers)
• Assessing pluripotency and differentiation of iPSC

Lead Instructors
Minal Patel Cellular Generation and Phenotyping, Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK
Glyn Stacey International Stem Cell Banking Initiative, UK
Orla O’Shea UK Stem Cell Bank, The National Institute for Biological Standards and Control (NIBSC), UK
Adam Hunter Cellular Generation and Phenotyping, Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK

Confirmed 2018 Guest Speakers
Andrew Bassett Head of Research (Cellular Operations), Wellcome Sanger Institute, UK
Rick Livesey University College London, UK
Christine Mummery Leiden University Medical Center, The Netherlands
Masato Nakagawa Center for iPS Cell Research and Application (CiRA), Japan

Prerequisites
Applicants should be scientists or clinicians/healthcare professionals engaged in relevant research.

Applications
Applications can be submitted online. Places are limited and will be awarded on merit. If you have any problems with the online application process, please contact us.

Please note: Applications must be supported by a recommendation from a scientific or clinical sponsor (e.g. supervisor, line manager, or head of department). A request for a supporting statement will be sent to your nominated sponsor automatically during the application process. Applicants must ensure that their sponsor provides this supporting statement by the application deadline. Applications without a supporting statement cannot be considered.

Deadline for applications extended: Closed

Travel visas
Please contact the event organiser if you require a letter to support a travel visa application to the UK. Note that letters will only be provided to confirmed attendees.

Non-European Economic Area or Swiss nationals may be required to have a visa to enter the UK. Early application is strongly advised, as this process can take 6-8 weeks or longer.

Please visit the following websites for further information: UK Border Agency website and information for general visitors and business
visitors.

*The course fee is subsidised by Wellcome Genome Campus Advanced Courses and Scientific Conferences and applies to non-commercial applicants.
Please contact us for the commercial fee.

Bursaries
Courses are subsidised for non-commercial applicants from anywhere in the world. Additional, limited bursaries are available (up to a 50% reduction of the course fee) and are awarded on merit. If you would like to apply for a bursary, please complete the bursary
section of the online application form.

Please note that both the applicant and sponsor are required to provide a justification for the bursary as part of the application.

Additional funding opportunities
Visit our support page for additional financial support currently available.

Bursary terms and conditions
UK Courses (held at the Wellcome Genome Campus, Hinxton, Cambridge)
A limited number of bursaries are available for each course. These are awarded by the selection committee according to merit. The bursary covers a maximum of 50% of the course fee, though in exceptional circumstances an application for the total course fee may be considered. Where there are many bursary applications, the selection committee may issue smaller amounts. We cannot assist with travel costs to attend UK courses.

Feedback from previous courses:

“Congratulations to the team on running a brilliant course. All very welcoming, friendly and helpful.”
“Great course, thank you for hosting it, I thoroughly enjoyed it.”
“Many thanks to all of the course tutors for their help and to those who set up all the cells for the students, which was clearly a very big task!”
“The overall quality of this training is exceptional.”
“Having the opportunity to be on this course was a honour and a privilege. Exceptional good value for money.”
“Excellent course.”
“A big thank you to all instructors and organisers!! This was a great course, everyone was very friendly, helpful and knowledgeable. Enjoyed the course and learned a lot!”
“Thank you for this amazing course. The facilities were extremely modern and convenient. The dedication of the staff to the students was remarkable. Thank you for the tremendous amount of work behind the scenes!”