Amy Wagers

Amy J. Wagers is the Forst Family Professor of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology at Harvard University[1] and Harvard Medical School, an investigator in islet cell and regenerative biology at the Joslin Diabetes Center, and principal faculty of the Harvard Stem Cell Institute.[2] She is co-chair of the Department of Stem Cells and Regenerative Biology at Harvard Medical School.[3]

Amy Wagers
Alma materJohns Hopkins University
Northwestern University (BA, PhD)
Stanford University
Known forstem cell transplantation experiments
Scientific career
Fieldsstem cell and regenerative biology, aging biology
InstitutionsHarvard Medical School
Websitehscrb.harvard.edu/labs/wagers-lab/

Education and research

Wager started her education at Johns Hopkins University and received her B.A. in Biological Sciences and her Ph.D. in Immunology and Microbial Pathogenesis from Northwestern University in 1999. She completed her postdoctoral fellowship in the laboratory of Dr. Irving Weissman at Stanford University School of Medicine.[2]

Wagers researches intrinsic and extrinsic regulators of stem cell function and how stem cells impact tissue regeneration and aging. She has demonstrated that transplantation of satellite cells into injured, diseased, or aged muscle can lead to cell engraftment, in some cases restoring muscle function. She has also identified novel regulators (such as EGR1) of stem cell trafficking and stem cell number in bone marrow and during immune responses, and identified blood-borne proteins, such as GDF11, that in mice can reverse some of the pathological changes that occur in aging tissues.[2] She co-founded a company based on this work, Elevian in 2018 that aims to apply GDF11 to stroke and other conditions.[4][5] There are other data, however, that indicate that GDF11 functions to inhibit muscle regeneration[6]

Two publications involving work by a postdoctoral researcher in the Wagers lab in 2008 were retracted by their other authors, one from Nature (2010) and one from Blood (August 2008).[7][8][9] The researcher was dismissed from the lab and later sanctioned by the U.S. Government's Office of Research Integrity (ORI), part of the Department of Health and Human Services.[10]

In 2018, Harvard Medical School announced that Wagers had accepted the position of co-chair of the Department of Stem Cells and Regenerative Biology, co-leading the Department with Chair Paola Arlotta.

Awards

References
  1. "Amy Wagers Principal Investigator Professor". Harvard Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology. Harvard University. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  2. "Amy Wagers, PhD". Harvard Stem Cell Institute.
  3. "Leadership Transformation | Harvard Medical School". hms.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  4. Herper, Matthew. "Of Vampires And The Challenges Of Longevity Drugs". Forbes. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  5. Molteni, Megan (2018-09-06). "Startups Flock to Turn Young Blood Into an Elixir of Youth". Wired. ISSN 1059-1028. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  6. Egerman, Marc A.; Cadena, Samuel M.; Gilbert, Jason A.; Meyer, Angelika; Nelson, Hallie N.; Swalley, Susanne E.; Mallozzi, Carolyn; Jacobi, Carsten; Jennings, Lori L.; Clay, Ieuan; Laurent, Gaëlle; Ma, Shenglin; Brachat, Sophie; Lach-Trifilieff, Estelle; Shavlakadze, Tea; Trendelenburg, Anne-Ulrike; Brack, Andrew S.; Glass, David J. (2015). "GDF11 Increases with Age and Inhibits Skeletal Muscle Regeneration". Cell Metabolism. 22 (1): 164–174. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2015.05.010. PMC 4497834. PMID 26001423.
  7. Mayack, Shane R.; Shadrach, Jennifer L.; Kim, Francis S.; Wagers, Amy J. (14 October 2010). "Retraction Note to: Systemic signals regulate ageing and rejuvenation of blood stem cell niches". Nature. 467 (7317): 872. doi:10.1038/nature09474. PMID 20944751.
  8. Mayack, S. R.; Wagers, A. J. (2 May 2008). "Osteolineage niche cells initiate hematopoietic stem cell mobilization". Blood. 112 (3): 519–531. doi:10.1182/blood-2008-01-133710. PMC 2481533. PMID 18456874.
  9. Wade, Nicholas (October 14, 2010). "3 Harvard Researchers Retract a Claim on the Aging of Stem Cells". The New York Times. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  10. Couzin-Frankel, Jennifer (August 30, 2012). "U.S. Misconduct Regulators Sanction Stem Cell Researcher". Science. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  11. "Six HMS Scientists Receive NIH Director's Awards | Harvard Medical School". hms.harvard.edu. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  12. "NIH Director's Pioneer Award Program - Award Recipients". commonfund.nih.gov. 26 June 2013. Retrieved 2019-06-04.
  13. "Biographical Sketch OMB No. 0925- 0001/0002 (Rev. 08/12 Approved Through 8/31/2015)" (PDF). Harvard. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
  14. "Amy J. Wagers". Arnold and Mabel Beckman Foundation. Retrieved 1 August 2018.
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