Innovations in Training: Toward Mitigating "Eternal post-docdum" in Stem Cell Research.

The Networks of Centres of Excellence (NCE) is an innovative model of large-scale research networks that began in Canada in 1989, and has since been adopted by numerous countries around the globe. The Canadian Stem Cell Network (SCN), an NCE that has fostered stem cell research and innovation in Canada, has supported over 1800 trainees since its inception in 2001. In the present study we assess the impact of such a network on its research trainees professional decision-making and movements. A database populated by the SCN between the years 2001-2013 was utilized to describe trainee professional movement between sectors and geographic regions. Focus groups of SCN trainees (n = 27) were carried out and major themes and subthemes were derived from the discourse using a thematic analysis approach. We found that most SCN trainees remained in Canada and in academic positions after leaving the SCN. Trainees expressed a desire to work in environments where their scientific interests and ideas are nurtured, where funding is stable, and where supervisor mentorship is readily accessible. SCN trainees value the unique opportunities provided by the NCE, including opportunities to network with peers, to attend various workshops and to broaden their knowledge and interest base beyond science and academia. Challenges faced by postdoctoral fellows and recommendations for future NCEs are also discussed. The findings here can be used to form evidence-based recommendations for future research networks and for policy pertaining to the recruitment and retention of highly qualified personnel in stem cell research.

Perspectives on strategies and challenges in the conversation about stem cells for spinal cord injury.

STUDY DESIGN: Qualitative study. OBJECTIVE: To examine how trusted communication between individuals with spinal cord injury (ISCIs) and physicians who care for ISCIs is affected by the discussion of advances in stem cell research and interventions locally and abroad. SETTING: Canada and the United States (US). METHODS: Semi-structured interviews with ISCIs and physicians. A thematic analysis approach was applied to more than 12 h of data to derive prominent themes and describe relationships between them. RESULTS: A convergence of factors involving transparency impact trusted communication between ISCIs and physicians about stem cells and spinal cord injury (SCI). ISCIs expressed that trusted communication is strengthened when physicians exhibit caring, attentive and positive attitudes that are underpinned by domain-specific knowledge and scholarship. Perceived reluctance to communicate or lack of knowledge poses significant challenges. Physicians also emphasised the importance of transparency for trusted communication but expressed that the still limited clinical reality of treatment choices for SCI and the pressures imposed by external resources are significant stressors that complicate the communication landscape. Both groups cited the range and variable quality of information sources, and the difficulty associated with navigating them, as priorities for action that would remediate these tensions. CONCLUSIONS: (1) Epistemic transparency should be privileged over silence. (2) A new generation of innovations in research and clinical trial dissemination about stem cells for SCI is needed to remedy the perceived inadequacies of existing information content and accessibility.

Focus on People and the Science Will Follow: Motivating Forces for Professional Movement in Stem Cell Research.

The migration of researchers across geographic borders, or "brain drain" as it is commonly called, remains an important issue for governments around the world as loss or gain of highly qualified personnel in research can have substantial social, economic and political consequences. In the present study we seek to examine the forces that drive international professional migration of stem cell (SC) researchers, for which variation of SC policy in different jurisdictions has previously been implicated as a driving force. Structured interviews were carried out with a purposive sample of SC researchers in the professoriate who had made international moves after postdoctoral work between the years 2001-2014, or were actively anticipating a future move. Participants were asked to rank motivators of international movement on a 5-point Likert scale and prompted to elaborate on their answers. The results suggest that career considerations, availability of research funding, and personal considerations are of high importance to the participants when considering an international move, while the permissiveness or restrictiveness SC research policy is of comparably lower importance. Participants also expressed that international movements are beneficial to scientific careers overall. The findings have important implications for policy and strategies to attract and retain members of the SC research community.

Beckwith-Wiedemann and Silver-Russell syndromes: opposite developmental imbalances in imprinted regulators of placental function and embryonic growth.

Beckwith-Wiedemann syndrome (BWS) and Silver-Russell syndrome (SRS) are two congenital disorders with opposite outcomes on fetal growth, overgrowth and growth restriction, respectively. Although both disorders are heterogeneous, most cases of BWS and SRS are associated with opposite epigenetic or genetic abnormalities on 11p15.5 leading to opposite imbalances in the expression levels of imprinted genes. In this article, we review evidence implicating these genes in the developmental regulation of embryonic growth and placental function in mouse models. The emerging picture suggests that both SRS and BWS can be caused by the simultaneous and opposite deregulation of two groups of imprinted genes on 11p15.5. A detailed description of the phenotypic abnormalities associated with each syndrome must take into consideration the developmental functions of each gene involved.