Dr. Marina Pryzhkova, an Assistant Scientist from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, was selected as the 8th winner of the KY Cha Award in Stem Cell Technology. Dr. Marina Pryzhkova was recognized for her research on Human Gonad Organoid System. In 2007, she succeeded in the derivation of the first human parthenogenetic embryonic stem cells. Currently, she is working on various research fields such as gene editing through technologies including CRISPR-Cas9, degron-based (N-degron and C-degron) protein degradation system, transgenic animal (mouse) models, and human reproduction based on embryonic stem cells.

Dr. Gustavo Mostoslavsky, an Associate Professor of Medicine and Microbiology at the Boston University School of Medicine, was selected as the 7th winner of the KY Cha Award in Stem Cell Technology. Dr. Mostoslavsky was recognized for his research project “Embryonic Stem Cell Modeling of Intestinal Differentiation” that greatly increased the possibility of using intestinal differentiation of embryonic stem cell for regenerative medicine.

Dr. Zhengshan Zhao, a professor of Environmental and Biological Science at the Texas A&M University, was awarded as the 6th winner of the KY Cha Award in Stem Cell Technology. Dr. Zhengshan Zhao succeeded in dividing stem cells into cardiomyocytes using human cardiac RNA through the research project called “Treatment of damaged cardiomyocytes in experimental animal models using human cardiac RNA” and was applauded for greatly increasing the likelihood of treating heart disease.

Dr. Philip Jordan, from the Department of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology at Johns Hopkins University, was awarded as the 5th winner of the KY Cha Award in Stem Cell Technology. Dr. Philip Jordan is a young medical scientist who was noted for his research project, “Development of a Cell-Based Diagnostic Analysis of Male Infertility,” and he conducted research to identify and analyze the genes involved in the meiosis and formation of eggs and sperm. Now, he is doing a research on factors related to stem cell division. In addition, he has developed a method for effectively diagnosing male infertility using specimens, and continues to do a research on producing spermatogonial stem cells and male reproductive cells from stem cells and applying them to future regenerative medicine and assisted reproductive technology.

Dr. Yossi Buganim, Ph.D., chief researcher at the Institute of Developmental Biology and Cancer at the Hebrew University-Hadassah Medical School in Jerusalem, was awarded as the 4th winner of the KY Cha Award in Stem Cell Technology. Dr. Yossi Buganim is a young medical scientist who was noted for his research project, "Development of a bioassay to evaluate the function of trophoblast stem cells produced for the treatment of placental dysfunction syndrome." The application of Dr. Yossi Buganim's work to human cells opens the way for women with habitual miscarriage or placental dysfunction syndrome to conceive and give birth to healthy babies.

Dr. Jatin Patel, a medical researcher at University of Queensland, was awarded as the third winner of the KY Cha Award in Stem Cell Technology. Dr. Jatin Patel is a young medical scientist who was noted for his research on treatment and tissue regeneration of vascular diseases using placental vascular endothelial progenitor cells and mesenchymal stem cells. In addition, he developed a new technique for the pure separation of placental vascular endothelial progenitor cells and mesenchymal stem cells from the fetal side of the placenta which paved the way for the development of new treatments for ischemic diseases.

Carlos Simón Vallés, who is serving as a professor at
the University of Valencia Department of Obstetrics
and Gynecology and is a clinical professor at Stanford
University, was selected as the 2014 winner of the
KY Cha Award in Stem Cell Technology. Professor Vallés has
been studying embryo implantation mechanisms and
reproductive cells since 1991. He was also recognized
as the scientist who conducted the most proactive
studies from 2003 to 2005. His research is focused
on proving his hypothesis that human somatic cells
can be reprogrammed as reproductive cells. CHA
Medical Group and ASRM selected Professor Vallés as
the winner of the KY Cha Award in Stem Cell Technology after
vigorously evaluating the potential of his research.

Dr. David E. Reichman of the ‘Ronal O. Perelman and
Claudia Cohen Center’ at Cornell University and Dr.
Erin Foran Wolff of the Eunice Kennedy Shriver
National Institute of Child Health and Human
Development were selected as the first winners of
the KY Cha Award in Stem Cell Technology. Dr. Reichman
gained international recognition for his paper ‘Clinical
application of heart endothelial cells derived from
human embryonic stem cells’ and Dr. Wolff greatly
contributed to the development of reproductive
medicine with her paper ‘Stem cell transplantation as
treatment for premature menopause’.