Films

#ResponsiveResearch series

An online series of short personal interviews with Cambridge Stem Cell Institute researchers exploring how they are adapting their research to investigate Covid-19.

In this film, we meet Dr Maria Colzani from the Sinha Group. Maria is working with colleagues on a collaborative project to investigate heart tissue damage seen in coronavirus patients.


Dr Fernando Calero (Göttgens Group) and Dr Nicole Mende (Laurenti Group) talk about their work using genomic techniques to study Covid-19 patient samples.	The Ghevaert Group describe how they refocused work producing platelets and megakaryocytes to study thrombosis (dangerous blood clotting) in coronavirus patients.

Dr Adam Young (Franklin Group) describes how his team are exploring similarities between the coronavirus and the measles, mumps and rubella viruses and their long-standing vaccines.	Dr Fotios Sampaziotis (Vallier Group) shares work on stem-cell derived bile duct 'organoids' which could provide a mechanism to study virus uptake and screen drugs to fight the pandemic.

#openupstemcells, 2019 - Using digital channels to respond to public questions about stem cell research

#openupstemcell was a Europe-wide digital engagement action in collaboration with EuroStemCell and the researchers at our institute. It involved responding to some of the most frequently asked questions posed by the public by releasing recorded videos across our own and EuroStemCell social media channels as a celebration of Stem Cell Awareness Day – 9 October 2019.

Throughout the month of September 2019, the event was promoted both online and to the relevant local audiences, to receive and address a range of questions. From the range of questions received our researchers have produces the following short videos:


Roger Barker on stem cell cures	Roger Barker on getting research to the clinic


Roger Barker on participating in clinical trials	Elisa Laurenti on stem cells in her research


Elisa Laurenti on umbilical cord blood donation	Oluwaseun Ogundele on stem cells in research


Noemi Linden on stem cells for developmental disorders

Laboratory-grown blood cells: transfusion of the future

Dr Cedric Ghevaert's group are exploring new ways to produce red blood cells and platelets from stem cells in the laboratory. These cells have the potential to revolutionise transfusion medicine, so we asked the public and blood donors what questions they had for the scientists behind this pioneering work.

Dish Life: a Cambridge Shorts film

Science is demanding as well as exciting. The award-winning documentary short film Dish Life, the final of four Cambridge Shorts films, compares the task of raising stem cells in the lab to the challenge of looking after a gang of unruly kids. In conversation with real-life children, scientists show how tricky it is to work with these ‘super cells’.

An educational mobile game, Dish Life: The Game is currently in production. See trailer for a sneak preview.

Patient stories: how stem cell research may impact future medicine

The three films below are a good starting point if you are interested to find out how research at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute has an impact on medicine. They were co-created by patients and our researchers.