Muse Cells: Endogenous Reparative Pluripotent Stem Cells

Mari Dezawa, M.D., Ph.D., is professor and chairperson at the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Histology, Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine (Japan). She has contributed to regenerative medicine by discovering non-tumorigenic reparative pluripotent stem cells, multilineage-differentiating stress-enduring (Muse) cells that naturally reside in the living body. Dr. Dezawa graduated from Chiba University School of Medicine in 1989 and gained her Ph.D. from the same university in 1995. In 2000 she joined Yokohama City University, where she started mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) research. After moving to Kyoto University Graduate School of Medicine as associate professor in 2003, she discovered methods to induce neurons and skeletal muscle cells from human MSCs by combining gene introduction and cytokine stimulation. In 2008, she became professor and chair of the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Histology at Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine. She subsequently has published a number of articles in leading journals on Muse cells and their reparative functions in animal disease models. Dr. Dezawa is the author of more than 120 original articles in international journals and serves as an editorial board member of several international journals. She is a fellow of the National Academy of Inventors, USA.