Pluripotent Stem Cell Maintenance & Cell Quality

Dates: December 5-7, 2023
Time: Starting at 12 pm EST/9 am PST each day

This live virtual training is hosted online by STEMCELL Technologies. Details on how to join online sessions will be provided to successful applicants.

AGENDA
Live Virtual Training Course: Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Maintenance and Cell Quality

Day 1 (4.25 hrs, including introduction, break, and wrap-up)

• Virtual lecture: Maintaining and Assessing hPSC Cultures (2.5 hrs)
• Virtual lab: Morphology and Evaluating the Quality of hPSC Cultures (1 hr)

Day 2 (4.25 hrs, including break and wrap-up)

• Virtual lab: Passaging and Long-Term Maintenance of hPSCs (2 hrs)
• Virtual lab: Cryopreservation and Thawing of hPSCs (0.75 hr)

Day 3 (2.5 hrs, including wrap-up)

• Virtual lecture: Characterization of hPSC Cell Quality (2 hrs)
• Course wrap up (0.5 hr)

• Complete the application form here by 11:59 PM (sender’s time), September 11, 2023.
• Applicants will be informed of the competition outcome by late September.
• Notification of acceptance for successful applicants will include details on how to complete their registration with STEMCELL Technologies and join the the online workshop sessions.
• Provide your CV and a full letter of support from your current supervisor detailing how your attendance will benefit your research and the lab’s stem cell research program as a whole. Letters and CV should be e-mailed by supervisors directly to Ellie Arnold, trainingSCN@stemcellnetwork.ca at the same time you submit your application documents. A confirmation email will be sent within 24 hours of SCN receiving the submitted support letter. If a confirmation email is NOT received from SCN within 24 hours of submission, it is the responsibility of the applicant to contact SCN and ensure that all application materials have been received by SCN.

• Applicants must be a trainee highly qualified personnel (HQP) (i.e., a graduate student, post-doc, research associate and/or technician currently working on a research project in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine in a Canadian lab.)
• If you’re unsure whether you are a trainee/HQP, please email Ellie Arnold at trainingSCN@stemcellnetwork.ca for confirmation.
• Applications will be evaluated by SCN management and/or SCN’s Training and Education Committee. The following considerations will be used to evaluate applications:
  • Applicants who have prior experience with mammalian cell culture and are working on a project that requires the use of hPSCs will be prioritized.
  • Applicants who are currently working with hPSCs will be prioritized. If not currently working with hPSCs, applicants who have plans to start doing so within the next 1-3 months will be ranked more highly than those who have longer timelines.
  • The described need for the training to support or accelerate a regenerative medicine project, and why this training cannot be acquired locally.
  • Regional distribution of applicants may also be considered to maximize the geographic distribution access to this training across Canada.
  • The quality of the knowledge dissemination plan in the application.
  • The overall quality of the written responses in the application.
  • The strength of the supervisor’s support letter.

• PIs can only support one application (i.e., only one application is permitted per lab).
• Note that participants in this course are required to use their own laptop computers, with headset for audio and webcam for video interaction. A second monitor/screen is also highly recommended.
• Spaces are limited for this training opportunity. SCN will cover the registration costs (paid directly to the organizers) of this course for applicants who attend all sessions and complete all elements of the online content within the designated period. For applicants who fail to attend all sessions or complete the course content, a fee of $530 CAD will be charged to their supervisor to cover the costs associated with delivering this training opportunity.
• By accepting a place on this workshop, the recipient agrees to provide a report describing the value of the training and networking opportunities made available through the award. This information will be used at SCN’s discretion on its website, newsletters and for the purpose of reporting to their funding agencies. Please note that expense reimbursement will be processed only once the completed report is received.
• By registering for this workshop attendees also accept to have their pictures taken during workshop and used in materials as described above.