STEM-Talk: Mari Dezawa on her MUSE cell discovery and regenerative medicine

Science was always part of Mari Dezawa’s life — even if she first thought she might head in another professional direction.

Her father was a researcher and she remembers many weekends in her childhood spent in her father’s lab. But when she was in high school, she dreamed of becoming a lawyer.

A childhood spent moving multiple times between the U.S., Japan and elsewhere for her father’s career, may have been a hindrance.

“When I returned to Japan, my scores in reading and writing Japanese were low, she says. Struggling to keep up with those classes, she changed her policy and decided to go to medical school.

Now we all may be better off for that change of plans.

Dezawa is one of the world’s leaders in stem-cell research and regenerative medicine, known worldwide for her discovery of MUSE cells, which are found in the human body and have the unique ability to replace damaged tissues as well as help the body heal itself. MUSE is short for Multilineage Differentiating Stress Enduring cells.

We are fortunate to have her on this episode of STEM-Talk, available now wherever you listen to podcasts.

Dezawa is a professor and chair of the Department of Stem Cell Biology and Histology at Tohoku University Graduate School of Medicine. She has published more than 200 papers and is particularly known for her 2010 paper on the mechanisms of MUSE cells. In 2018, she was appointed a fellow of the U.S. National Academy of Inventors and has been the recipient of numerous awards, including the Japanese Government’s Prize for the Commendation for Science and Technology.

Our conversation with Dezawa covers a lot of ground:

• Methods she developed to induce bone marrow stromal cells to generate neuro and skeletal muscle cells, which play a crucial role in tissue repair and regeneration.
• How a mistake in the lab — and a collegial cocktail party — put her on the journey toward the incredible discovery of MUSE cells.
• What makes MUSE cells — which can repair organ tissues and themselves — so significant. “MUSE cells were originally considered very convenient (type) of stem cells. As research has progressed over the last 15 years, the interpretation of MUSE cells has changed slightly…. Like macrophages they capture damaged cells and eat them and quickly differentiate into the same cell type” effectively reconstituting themselves into new versions of the damaged or dying cells they just consumed.
• How MUSE cells may be used in treatment of myocardial infarction, stroke, traumatic brain injury, and dementia.
• Her plans for applying her research to human trials in Alzheimer’s disease and much more.

IHMC is a not-for-profit research institute of the Florida University System where researchers pioneer science and technology aimed at leveraging and extending human capabilities. IHMC researchers and staff collaborate extensively with the government, industry and academia to help develop breakthrough technologies. IHMC research partners have included: DARPA, the National Science Foundation, NASA, Army, Navy, Air Force, National Institutes of Health, IBM, Microsoft, Honda, Boeing, Lockheed, and many others.