Lifetime career talk by Roger Smith, Professor of Equine Orthopaedics, Royal Veterinary College London, UK 

Be inspired by the clinician-scientist, PI of numerous competitive grants, author of more than 150 peer-reviewed publications and founding director of the VetCell spin-out, who pioneered veterinary regenerative medicine - starting with the first-in-world mesenchymal stem cell therapy for equine tendinopathy.

Rethinking MSC Culture: 3D Approaches for Isolation, Expansion, and Microtissue Formation

Mesenchymal stem cells hold tremendous promise for regenerative medicine and in vitro disease modeling, yet conventional 2D culture systems often fail to preserve their identity and potency. This talk introduces innovative 3D culture concepts that recreate a biomimetic environment for MSC isolation, expansion, and differentiation, with encapsulation strategies as a central tool. From alternative isolation approaches to the formation of defined microtissues, we explore how thinking in 3D can change the way we culture and utilize MSCs.

MIPO, Minimal Information for Publication of Establishment of Novel Non-Human or Non-Rodent Organoids

Organoids are promising in vitro culture systems that replicate in vivo functionality and as such will be instrumental to reduce the use of animals in biomedical research. Organoids have been described from multiple non-model species and tissue origins together with species-to-species differences. However, variability in reporting methods for establishing organoids from diverse non-human, non-rodent species hampers reproducibility and independent validation. Lack of reproducibility may thus prevent full exploitation of the in vitro potential of animal organoids. Here we propose a set of practical guidelines towards standardization of reported data on organoids for the benefit of both researchers and reviewers working with non-human non-rodent species.

Designing Biomaterials from a Cellular Perspective: Cell Diversity and In Vitro Tissue Models

Dr. De Schauwer is head of the Veterinary Stem Cell Research Unit. Her current work explores bovine mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for cultured meat production and equine MSCs for treating orthopedic injuries using biomimetic in vitro models. With experience across species and cell sources, she combines her veterinary background with interdisciplinary collaborations in biomaterials, tissue engineering, and clinical orthopedics to advance MSC-based therapies from bench to bedside.

The potential of stem cell secretome and induced pluripotent stem cells in veterinary regenerative medicine

The stem cell secretome is defined as the global group of bioactive factors secreted by stem cells that regulates a variety of biological and physiological process, thus making it a clinically relevant biologic for the treatment of various diseases affecting companion animals. In addition, the use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs), especially when reprogrammed using integration-free methods, is gaining increased attention in veterinary regenerative medicine. This talk will present specific examples related to both topics that are currently being explored in the Van de Walle lab.