Michael D. West

Last updated
Michael D. West
Michael West.png
Born
CitizenshipUnited States
Alma mater Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (B.S.)
Andrews University (M.S.)
Baylor College of Medicine (Ph.D.) [2]
Known forFounder and CEO of AgeX Therapeutics, former CEO and co-CEO of BioTime, Founder of Geron Corporation, former CEO of Advanced Cell Technology, research in biogerontology, stem cell science, cellular aging, and telomeres

Michael D. West (born in Niles, Michigan on 28 April 1953) is an American biogerontologist, and a pioneer in stem cells, [3] cellular aging and telomerase. [4] He is the founder and CEO of AgeX Therapeutics, [5] [6] a startup focused on the field of experimental gerontology.

Contents

Early life and education

West was born in Niles, Michigan, to a wealthy family which ran an automobile leasing business. After graduating from Niles Senior High School, West earned a BS in psychology from the Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute in 1976. He then returned to Niles to help run the family business before resuming academic studies. He earned an MS in biology from Andrews University in 1982. That same year, he joined the laboratory of Samuel Goldstein, a molecular gerontologist at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, and began to research the molecular biology of aging. Following a clash with Goldstein over a series of experiments in which he demonstrated that results which Goldstein had published in Cell were experimental artifacts, he transferred to the Baylor College of Medicine, where he worked in the laboratory of another molecular gerontologist, James Smith, and graduated with a PhD in cell biology in 1989. He did postdoctoral research at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center. [7] [8]

Career

Prior to joining BioTime, West was chairman of the board, chief scientific officer and CEO of Advanced Cell Technology (ACT), another biotechnology company focused on stem cell research. ACT later changed its name to Ocata Therapeutics, and was acquired by Japanese pharmaceutical company Astellas Pharma for US$379M or $8.50 per share in February 2016.

Prior that, West was founder, director, and chief scientific officer of Geron, for which he secured venture capital investment from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers, Venrock [9] and Domain Associates. [10] At Geron, West initiated and managed programs in telomere biology relating to aging, cancer and human embryonic stem cell technology. [11]

West organized the first collaborative effort to isolate human pluripotent (embryonic) stem cells for the purpose of manufacturing products in regenerative medicine in collaboration with James Thomson at the University of Wisconsin at Madison, John Gearhart at Johns Hopkins School of Medicine, [12] and Roger Pedersen at the University of California, San Francisco. [13]

In their telomerase research, West and colleagues at Geron cloned the RNA component of telomerase [14] and collaborated with Thomas Cech (winner of 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry), with whom they cloned the catalytic component of the enzyme telomerase, [15] and sponsored collaborative research in the laboratory of Carol Greider, then at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. [16] Geron published evidence of the role of telomerase in cancer and cell immortalization in collaboration with Woodring Wright and Jerry Shay at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. [17]

For the company's Scientific and Clinical Advisory Board, he recruited Günter Blobel (winner of the 1999 Nobel Prize in Physiology), [18] Leonard Hayflick, Carol Greider (winner of the 2009 Nobel Prize in Medicine), James Watson (winner of the 1962 Nobel Prize in medicine), and others. [19]

West has been a keynote speaker at events including World Stem Cell and is associated with 146 patents in the United States, [20] Australia, Japan, and elsewhere. [21] [ better source needed ]

West is a member of the Alcor Life Extension Foundation's scientific advisory board. [22] He is a signatory of the Scientists’ Open Letter on Cryonics. [23]

Bibliography

Books

West has authored and co-edited books on topics including animal cloning, aging, biogerontology, stem cells, stem cell biology, and regenerative medicine.

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Human cloning</span> Creation of a genetically identical copy of a human

Human cloning is the creation of a genetically identical copy of a human. The term is generally used to refer to artificial human cloning, which is the reproduction of human cells and tissue. It does not refer to the natural conception and delivery of identical twins. The possibilities of human cloning have raised controversies. These ethical concerns have prompted several nations to pass laws regarding human cloning.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Stem cell</span> Undifferentiated biological cells that can differentiate into specialized cells

In multicellular organisms, stem cells are undifferentiated or partially differentiated cells that can differentiate into various types of cells and proliferate indefinitely to produce more of the same stem cell. They are the earliest type of cell in a cell lineage. They are found in both embryonic and adult organisms, but they have slightly different properties in each. They are usually distinguished from progenitor cells, which cannot divide indefinitely, and precursor or blast cells, which are usually committed to differentiating into one cell type.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telomere</span> Region of repetitive nucleotide sequences on chromosomes

A telomere is a region of repetitive nucleotide sequences associated with specialized proteins at the ends of linear chromosomes. Telomeres are a widespread genetic feature most commonly found in eukaryotes. In most, if not all species possessing them, they protect the terminal regions of chromosomal DNA from progressive degradation and ensure the integrity of linear chromosomes by preventing DNA repair systems from mistaking the very ends of the DNA strand for a double-strand break.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Telomerase</span> Telomere-restoring protein active in the most rapidly dividing cells

Telomerase, also called terminal transferase, is a ribonucleoprotein that adds a species-dependent telomere repeat sequence to the 3' end of telomeres. A telomere is a region of repetitive sequences at each end of the chromosomes of most eukaryotes. Telomeres protect the end of the chromosome from DNA damage or from fusion with neighbouring chromosomes. The fruit fly Drosophila melanogaster lacks telomerase, but instead uses retrotransposons to maintain telomeres.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Elizabeth Blackburn</span> Australian-born American biological researcher

Elizabeth Helen Blackburn, is an Australian-American Nobel laureate who is the former president of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies. In 1984, Blackburn co-discovered telomerase, the enzyme that replenishes the telomere, with Carol W. Greider. For this work, she was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, sharing it with Carol W. Greider and Jack W. Szostak, becoming the first Australian woman Nobel laureate.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Embryonic stem cell</span> Type of pluripotent blastocystic stem cell

Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage pre-implantation embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist of 50–150 cells. Isolating the inner cell mass (embryoblast) using immunosurgery results in destruction of the blastocyst, a process which raises ethical issues, including whether or not embryos at the pre-implantation stage have the same moral considerations as embryos in the post-implantation stage of development.

Biological immortality is a state in which the rate of mortality from senescence is stable or decreasing, thus decoupling it from chronological age. Various unicellular and multicellular species, including some vertebrates, achieve this state either throughout their existence or after living long enough. A biologically immortal living being can still die from means other than senescence, such as through injury, poison, disease, predation, lack of available resources, or changes to environment.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hayflick limit</span> Limit to divisions of a normal human cell

The Hayflick limit, or Hayflick phenomenon, is the number of times a normal somatic, differentiated human cell population will divide before cell division stops. However, this limit does not apply to stem cells.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Regenerative medicine</span> Field of medicine involved in regenerating tissues

Regenerative medicine deals with the "process of replacing, engineering or regenerating human or animal cells, tissues or organs to restore or establish normal function". This field holds the promise of engineering damaged tissues and organs by stimulating the body's own repair mechanisms to functionally heal previously irreparable tissues or organs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geron Corporation</span> American biotechnology company

Geron Corporation is a biotechnology company located in Foster City, California, which specializes in developing and commercializing therapeutic products for cancer that inhibit telomerase.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Progenitor cell</span> Cell that differentiates into one or a few cell types

A progenitor cell is a biological cell that can differentiate into a specific cell type. Stem cells and progenitor cells have this ability in common. However, stem cells are less specified than progenitor cells. Progenitor cells can only differentiate into their "target" cell type. The most important difference between stem cells and progenitor cells is that stem cells can replicate indefinitely, whereas progenitor cells can divide only a limited number of times. Controversy about the exact definition remains and the concept is still evolving.

Following is a list of topics related to life extension:

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Carol W. Greider</span> American molecular biologist and Nobel laureate

Carolyn Widney Greider is an American molecular biologist and Nobel laureate. She joined the University of California, Santa Cruz as a Distinguished Professor in the department of molecular, cell, and developmental biology in October 2020.

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to life extension:

Douglas A. Melton is an American medical researcher who is the Xander University Professor at Harvard University, and was an investigator at the Howard Hughes Medical Institute until 2022. Melton serves as the co-director of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute and was the first co-chairman of the Harvard University Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology. Melton is the founder of several biotech companies including Gilead Sciences, Ontogeny, iPierian, and Semma Therapeutics. Melton holds membership in the National Academy of the Sciences, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, and is a founding member of the International Society for Stem Cell Research.

Astellas Institute for Regenerative Medicine is a subsidiary of Astellas Pharma located in Marlborough, Massachusetts, US, developing stem cell therapies with a focus on diseases that cause blindness. It was formed in 1994 as a company named Advanced Cell Technology, Incorporated (ACT), which was renamed to Ocata Therapeutics in November 2014. In February 2016 Ocata was acquired by Astellas for $379 million USD.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Sierra Sciences</span> Biotechnology company

Sierra Sciences, LLC is a biotechnology company founded by William H. Andrews, former director of molecular biology at Geron Corporation. Andrews founded Sierra Sciences in 1999 in Reno, Nevada with the goal of preventing and/or reversing cellular senescence, and ultimately curing diseases associated with human aging, including the aging process itself.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cell potency</span> Ability of a cell to differentiate into other cell types

Cell potency is a cell's ability to differentiate into other cell types. The more cell types a cell can differentiate into, the greater its potency. Potency is also described as the gene activation potential within a cell, which like a continuum, begins with totipotency to designate a cell with the most differentiation potential, pluripotency, multipotency, oligopotency, and finally unipotency.

William Henry Andrews is an American molecular biologist and gerontologist whose career is centered on searching for a cure for human aging. Andrews is the founder and president of the biotechnology company Sierra Sciences. In the 1990s, he led the team at Geron Corporation that was the first to successfully identify the genes for human enzyme telomerase. This enzyme is responsible for preventing telomeres from shortening in human primordial germ cells.

Bryant Villeponteau is an American scientist, entrepreneur, and longevity expert who has worked in both academia and industry.

References

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  2. "Michael D. West Ph.D.: Executive Profile & Biography". Bloomberg. Bloomberg L.P. Retrieved 15 May 2015.
  3. "On Michael D. West and the Medical Crusade to Defeat Death". Trinity International University blog. May 9, 2011.
  4. "A Blood Test Offers Clues to Longevity". New York Times. May 18, 2011.
  5. "The Smart Money Is Piling Into Regenerative Medicine". Forbes.com. April 14, 2017.
  6. "AgeX Therapeutics lands $10 mln". PE HUB. August 17, 2017.
  7. Michael D. West (1953- )
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  12. Gearhart J (December 12, 2008). "A decade of stem-cell research. An interview with John Gearhart, Director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Pennsylvania, USA". EMBO Reports. 10 (1): 12–6. doi:10.1038/embor.2008.235. PMC   2613216 . PMID   19079128.
  13. "Stem-Cell Researcher Plans Move to U.K., Citing Unfriendly Political Climate in U.S." The Wall Street Journal. July 16, 2001.
  14. Feng, J., Funk, W.D., Wang, S-S, Weinrich, S.L., Avilion, A.A., Chiu, C-P., Adams, R., Chang, E., Allsopp, R.C., Siyuan Le, J-Y., West, M.D., Harley, C.B., Andrews, W.H., Greider, C.W., Villeponteau, B.V. (1 September 1995). "The RNA Component of Human Telomerase". Science. 269 (5228): 1236–1241. Bibcode:1995Sci...269.1236F. doi:10.1126/science.7544491. PMID   7544491. S2CID   9440710.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  15. "Biotechnology Company Says It Has Cloned a Cancer Gene". The New York Times. August 18, 1997.
  16. Hall, Stephen (2003). "Merchants of Immortality: Chasing the New Dream of Life Extension". Houghton Mifflin. ISBN   0547561571. Page 320.
  17. Kim, N.W., Piatyszek, M.A., Prowse, K.R., Harley, C.B., West, M.D., Ho, P.L.C., Coviello, G.M., Wright, W.E., Weinrich, S.L., and Shay, J.W. (23 December 1994). "Specific association of human telomerase activity with immortal cells and cancer". Science. 266 (5193): 2011–14. Bibcode:1994Sci...266.2011K. doi:10.1126/science.7605428. PMID   7605428. S2CID   11965342.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
  18. Hall, Stephen (2003). "Merchants of Immortality: Chasing the New Dream of Life Extension". Houghton Mifflin. ISBN   0547561571. Page 151.
  19. "Geron Corporation 10K 1996".
  20. "Google Patent Search: West, Michael D".
  21. "Michael David West CV" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2014-07-26. Retrieved 2013-09-15.
  22. "About Alcor: The World Leader in Cryonics". alcor.org. Retrieved May 14, 2023.
  23. "Scientists' Open Letter on Cryonics". Biostasis. Retrieved May 14, 2023.