Leadership

Sally Temple, Ph.D.
Scientific Director, Co-Founder

Dr. Sally Temple is the co-Founder and Scientific Director of the Neural Stem Cell Institute located in Rensselaer, NY. A native of York, England, Dr. Temple leads a team of 30 researchers focused on using neural stem cells to develop therapies for eye, brain and spinal cord disorders. In 2008, she was awarded the MacArthur Fellowship Award for her contribution and future potential in the neural stem cell field. 

Dr. Temple received her undergraduate degree at Cambridge University, Cambridge UK, specializing in developmental biology and neuroscience. She continued her PhD work at University College London, UK and postdoctoral fellowship at Columbia University, NY where she focused on optic nerve development.

In 1989, Dr. Temple discovered that the embryonic mammalian brain contained a rare stem-like cell. Since then she has continued to make pioneering contributions to the field of stem cell research, focusing on the question of how neural stem cells alter their developmental potential over time to generate diverse progeny.  Her research indicates that internal counting mechanisms, rather than external signals in the progenitors, determine the number of cell divisions they undergo.  She has identified markers on progenitor cell lines and external signaling molecules that participate in maintaining and differentiating them.

Dr. Temple’s studies suggest that the limited success to date of embryonic stem cell transplants to repair neural damage could be due to introduction of stem cells at the wrong stage of development. It may be that progenitor cells further along in their differentiation will prove more effective. Through her research on the differentiation of neural progenitors, Dr. Temple brings us closer to developing effective clinical treatments for central nervous system damage due to trauma, neurodegenerative diseases, malignancy, or stroke. 

As scientific director of NSCI, Dr. Temple oversees the research mission from basic to translational projects. She is also responsible for the staff, the budget and for developing the overall strategic plan for the institute. Dr. Temple is a member of the board of directors of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, and of the medical advisory boards of the NY Stem Cell Foundation and the Genetics Policy Institute. Her numerous articles have been published in such journals as Nature, Cell Stem Cell, Neuron, and Cell.

Dr. Temple is recipient of many prestigious awards including the Jacob Javitz Merit award from NIH (2003) as well as the MacArthur fellowship Award (2008) in recognition of her contributions to neural stem cell developmental biology.

Select Publications:

Spred1, a negative regulator of Ras-MAPK-ERK, is enriched in CNS germinal zones, dampens NSC proliferation, and maintains ventricular zone structure. Phoenix TN, Temple S. Genes Dev. 2010 Jan 1;24(1):45-56.

The timing of cortical neurogenesis is encoded within lineages of individual progenitor cells. Shen Q, Wang Y, Dimos JT, Fasano CA, Phoenix TN, Lemischka IR, Ivanova NB, Stifani S, Morrisey EE, Temple S. Nat Neurosci. 2006 Jun;9(6):743-51. Epub 2006 May 7.

LeX is expressed by principle progenitor cells in the embryonic nervous system, is secreted into their environment and binds Wnt-1. Capela A, Temple S. Dev Biol. 2006 Mar 15;291(2):300-13. Epub 2006 Feb 3.

Asymmetric distribution of EGFR receptor during mitosis generates diverse CNS progenitor cells. Sun Y, Goderie SK, Temple S. Neuron. 2005 Mar 24;45(6):873-86.

LeX/ssea-1 is expressed by adult mouse CNS stem cells, identifying them as nonependymal. Capela A, Temple S. Neuron. 2002 Aug 29;35(5):865-75.

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Jeffrey Stern, MD, Ph.D.
Board Chair & Director of Translational Research, Co-Founder

Dr. Stern was trained as a biophysicist in vision research at Brandeis University, MA and Rockefeller University, NY, receiving his PhD in 1982. He then studied medicine at Miami University Medical School and Ophthalmology at Albany Medical School and completed a fellowship in vitreo-retinal specialty at Mt. Sinai Medical School, NYC. 

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Christopher A. Fasano, Ph.D.
Director of Research and Development

Christopher received his Ph.D. from Albany Medical College in 2007 studying mouse neural stem cells.  His work focused on understanding the molecular mechanisms of neural stem cell self-renewal; the unique property of stem cells that allows them to make more of themselves.  Christopher continued his stem cell studies during a post-doctoral fellowship under Lorenz Studer where he used human embryonic stem cells as a tool to study neural development.   His work there led to a novel discovery describing for the first time the derivation of the floor plate; the developmental origin of midbrain dopamine neurons in mouse.  Midbrain dopamine neurons are the cells that die in Parkinson’s disease, and with hopes for generating these cells as a possible therapeutic, these studies are critical for the advancement of the stem cell field.  Christopher joined NSCI in September where he will continue his studies on early human neural development using a combination of cell culture and molecular techniques.  

Select Publications:

Efficient derivation of functional floor plate tissue from human embryonic stem cells. Fasano CA, Chambers SM, Lee G, Tomishima MJ, Studer L. Cell Stem Cell. 2010 Apr 2;6(4):336-47.

Bmi-1 cooperates with Foxg1 to maintain neural stem cell self-renewal in the forebrain. Fasano CA, Phoenix TN, Kokovay E, Lowry N, Elkabetz Y, Dimos JT, Lemischka IR, Studer L, Temple S.

Genes Dev. 2009 Mar 1;23(5):561-74.

Highly efficient neural conversion of human ES and iPS cells by dual inhibition of SMAD signaling. Chambers SM, Fasano CA, Papapetrou EP, Tomishima M, Sadelain M, Studer L. Nat Biotechnol. 2009 Mar;27(3):275-80.

shRNA knockdown of Bmi-1 reveals a critical role for p21-Rb pathway in NSC self-renewal during development. Fasano CA, Dimos JT, Ivanova NB, Lowry N, Lemischka IR, Temple S.  Cell Stem Cell. 2007 Jun 7;1(1):87-99. 

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