Dear Colleagues,

Over the past decade, there have been exponential advances in the biology of stem cells, which has lead to the formation of an entirely new field of regenerative medicine. One of the first areas of human disease that is likely to be transformed by this transition is in the development of new biologically targeted therapies for cancer, where the discovery of tumor stem cells has sparked a major new arena in translational science, drug discovery and biotechnology. At the same time, tumorigenesis is an important safety issue in the use of stem cells for a wide variety of acute and chronic diseases outside of cancer, creating a "flip-side" of the same biological coin. In particular, while it is now clear that one can generate pluripotent stem cells from skin cells from single individuals, their clinical use will undoubtedly be predicated on eliminating their potential for tumroigenesis. Another issue relates to the unwanted side effects of biologically targeted therapies for cancer that can sometimes be associated with cardiovascular side effects and there is now the opportunity to develop human cardiovascular cell assay systems, based on human pluripotent stem cells, to eliminate these side effects during early stages of drug development. In summary, the intertwining of cancer biology, regenerative medicine and stem cell biology is now upon us.

This meeting will bring together thought leaders in all of these three arenas. In addition, the speakers represent all sectors of the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine, i.e., major medical centers, academic institutions, stem cell institutes and pharma. We look forward to welcoming you to Rome to this focused meeting that should lead to new insights at the forefront of an emerging field.

Kenneth R. Chien, Gianluigi Condorelli, Luca Gianni