Roger A. Pedersen

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Roger A. Pedersen
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Born
Roger Arnold Pedersen

01 August 1944
Died02 February 2025 (aged 80 years)
NationalityAmerican, British
Alma materStanford University, Yale University
Known forStem cell biology, developmental biology, cell programming, regenerative medicine
Scientific career
InstitutionsUniversity California San Francisco, University of Cambridge, Stanford University

Roger A. Pedersen (1944 - 2025) was a prominent American-British stem cell biologist known for his pioneering research in the fields of developmental biology, regenerative medicine, and pluripotent stem cells. His work has significantly contributed to the understanding of stem cell biology and has implications for therapeutic applications.

Contents

Education

Pedersen completed his undergraduate studies at Stanford University, earning an A.B with distinction in Biology in 1965. He earned his Ph.D. in developmental genetics in 1970 at Yale University under the guidance of isozyme pioneer Clement Markert, collaborating with Yoshi Masui on the biochemical aspects of cell differentiation during embryonic development. Pedersen continued his academic journey with postdoctoral research at Johns Hopkins University with John Biggers, where he began using the mouse embryo as a model for studying mammalian embryonic development. [1]

Research career

Pedersen began his research career at UCSF in 1971, where he studied the developmental genetics of mouse embryos. These studies revealed the origins of tissues and the three-dimensional organization of mammals, [2] highlighting the conservation of the gastrula fate map across vertebrates. [3]

In 1992, Pedersen became Director of the UCSF assisted reproduction laboratory, where he introduced the use of micromanipulation for treating male infertility.

In the late 1990s, Pedersen together with Michael D. West organized the first collaborative effort to isolate human 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.

In the early 2000s, Pedersen joined the University of Cambridge U.K., where he nucleated the Cambridge Stem Cell Initiative, later named the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute (2012). In 2008, Pedersen established and led the Institute's translational division, the Anne McLaren Laboratory for Regenerative Medicine. He gained recognition for his investigations into the molecular mechanisms governing stem cell pluripotency and differentiation. [4] [5] [6] He discovered of a novel type of pluripotent stem cell from the late epiblast layer of mouse and rat embryos, which Pedersen named epiblast stem cells (EpiSCs) [7] – the mouse counterpart to human embryonic stem cells. [8] His research has led to breakthroughs in understanding how stem cells can be directed to become various cell types both by directed differentiation and forward programming, [9] [10] with enormous potential for the realization of regenerative therapies.

In 2018, Pedersen returned to his alma mater as Adjunct Professor and Senior Research Scientist at Stanford University School of Medicine, USA. He was also Chief Scientific Advisor to bit.bio, Cambridge, U.K. [11] [12] .

Pedersen received numerous awards and honors in recognition of his contributions to developmental biology and stem cell research. He was a Fellow at Churchill College, Cambridge (2006–2018), elected Fellow of the Society of Biology in 2011, and named a Siebel Scholar by the Stanford University Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine (2012–2013). His editorial contributions include serving on the boards of Cell Stem Cell (2006–2020), Molecular Reproduction and Development (Associate Editor, 1991–2025), and the International Journal of Developmental Biology (1989–2025). [13]

References

  1. ↑ "Roger Pedersen Stanford CAP profile".
  2. ↑ Lawson KA, Meneses JJ, Pedersen RA (1991). "Clonal analysis of epiblast fate during germ layer formation in the mouse embryo". Development. 113 (3): 891–911. doi:10.1242/dev.113.3.891. PMID   1821858.
  3. ↑ Mascetti VL, Pedersen RA (2016). "Human-mouse chimerism validates human stem cell pluripotency". Cell Stem Cell. 18 (1): 67–72. doi:10.1016/j.stem.2015.11.017. PMC   4712187 . PMID   26712580.
  4. ↑ Vallier L, Touboul T, Brown S, Cho C, Bilican B, Alexander M, Cedervall J, Chandran S, Ahrlund-Richter L, Weber A, Pedersen RA (2009). "Signalling pathways controlling pluripotency and early cell fate decisions of human induced pluripotent stem cells". Stem Cells. 27 (11): 2655–2666. doi:10.1002/stem.199. PMID   19688839.
  5. ↑ Bernardo AS, Faial T, Niakan KK, Ortmann D, Gardner L, Senner CE, Callery EM, Trotter MW, Hemberger M, Smith JC, Moffett A, Bardwell L, Pedersen RA (2011). "BRACHYURY and CDX2 mediate BMP-induced differentiation of human and mouse pluripotent stem cells into embryonic and extraembryonic lineages". Cell Stem Cell. 9 (2): 144–155. doi:10.1016/j.stem.2011.06.015. PMC   3567433 . PMID   21816365.
  6. ↑ Mendjan S, Mascetti VL, Ortmann D, Ortiz M, Karjosukarso DW, Ng Y, Moreau T, Pedersen RA (2014). "NANOG and CDX2 pattern distinct types of human mesoderm during exit from pluripotency". Cell Stem Cell. 15 (3): 310–325. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2014.06.006 . PMID   25042702.
  7. ↑ Brons, IGM, Smithers LE, Trotter MW, Rugg-Gunn P, Sun B, Chuva de Sousa Lopes SM, Howlett SK, Clarkson A, Ahrlund-Richter L, Pedersen RA, Vallier L (2007). "Derivation of pluripotent epiblast stem cells from mammalian embryos". Nature. 448 (7150): 191–195. Bibcode:2007Natur.448..191B. doi:10.1038/nature05950. PMID   17597762.
  8. ↑ Mascetti VL, Pedersen RA (2016). "Contributions of Mammalian Chimeras to Pluripotent Stem Cell Research". Cell Stem Cell. 19 (2): 163–175. doi:10.1016/j.stem.2016.07.018. PMC   5366358 . PMID   27494674.
  9. ↑ Moreau T, Evans A, Vasquez L, Tijssen MR, Yan Y, Trotter MW, Howard D, Colzani M, Arumugam M, Wu WH, Dalby A, Lampela R, Bouet G, Hobbs CM, Pask DC, Payne H, Ponomaryov T, Brill A, Soranzo N, Ouwehand WH, Pedersen RA, Ghevaert G (2016). "Large-scale production of megakaryocytes from human pluripotent stem cells by chemically defined forward programming". Nature Communications. 7: 11208. Bibcode:2016NatCo...711208M. doi:10.1038/ncomms11208. PMC   4829662 . PMID   27052461.
  10. ↑ Pawlowski M, Ortmann D, Bertero A, Pedersen R, Vallier L, Kotter M (2017). "Inducible and deterministic forward programming of human pluripotent stem cells into neurons, skeletal myocytes and oligodendrocytes". Stem Cell Reports. 8 (4): 803–812. doi:10.1016/j.stemcr.2017.02.016. PMC   5390118 . PMID   28344001.
  11. ↑ "Roger Pedersen obituary". Stanford Medicine Obstetrics and Gynecology.
  12. ↑ Mascetti, Victoria L. "Roger A. Pedersen Obituary" . Cell Stem Cell. 32 (5): 681–683. doi:10.1016/j.stem.2025.04.003.
  13. ↑ "Roger Pedersen Stanford CAP profile".
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