Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte Explained

Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte
Birth Place:	Hellín, Albacete, Spain
Nationality:	Spanish
Fields:	Biochemistry
Alma Mater:	University of Valencia University of Bologna

Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte (born December 12, 1960, in Hellín, Albacete) is a Spanish biochemist and developmental biologist. He is a professor in the Gene Expression Laboratories at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California since 1993.

Education

Izpisua Belmonte graduated from the University of Valencia, Spain with a bachelor's degree in Pharmacy and Science. He then earned a master's degree in pharmacology from the same university before moving on to complete his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Pharmacology at the University of Bologna, Italy and the University of Valencia, Spain. He followed that with a stage as a postdoctoral fellow in different institutions, including the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), in Heidelberg, Germany and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, USA prior to moving to the Salk Institute in 1993.^[1]

Career

In 2004, Izpisua Belmonte helped to establish the Center for Regenerative Medicine in Barcelona and was its Director between 2004 and 2014.^[2]

He works as a specialist at Altos Labs. In 2023, due to the interest generated by his work, one of his presentations in Boston drew such a large crowd that it violated the fire code and was reduced by the police. A biologist has cautioned against "hype" and recommended waiting for more scientific publications.^[3]

Research and claims

Izpisua Belmonte is a main catalyzer in one of today's most promising areas of biomedicine: regenerative medicine. His work may help to discover new molecules and specific gene/cell treatments to prevent and cure diseases affecting mankind both in the adult and embryonic stages, as well as inducing endogenous in vivo regenerative responses that may allow for tissue and organ regeneration in humans. It also may contribute to increase our knowledge of aging and aging-associated diseases, thereby leading to healthier aging and increased lifespan.^{[4] [5] [6]}

His conceptual discoveries and methodologies for regenerative medicine include:

• Elucidating some of the key cellular and molecular bases of how an organism with millions of cells develops from a single cell embryo after fertilization.^{[7] [8] [9] [10] [11] [12] [13]}
• Seminal discoveries towards understanding the molecular basis underlying somatic cell reprogramming
• New methodologies for the differentiation of human stem cells into various cells types and organoids, like the kidney and heart.^{[14] [15] [16]}
• Development of novel stem cell models of human aging and aging-associated diseases, and discovery of new drivers of rejuvenation.^{[17] [18]}
• Novel genetic and epigenetic technologies to both treat, and prevent the transmission, of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA originated diseases.^{[14] [19] [20] [21]}
• Proof of concept that iPSC technology can be used for the generation of disease corrected patient specific cells with potential value for cell therapy.^[22]
• The development of methodologies for culturing embryos, including non-human primates, and creating synthetic mammalian embryos.^{[23] [24]}
• Development of technologies that allow differentiation of human cells inside embryos of different species. These results may allow for the generation of human tissues and organs.^{[25] [26] [27] [28]}

Recognition

A secondary school, Instituto Enseñanza Secundaria (IES) Izpisua Belmonte, was named after Izpisua Belmonte in his hometown of Hellín, Albacete, Spain.^[29] In October, 2018, he was named by Time Magazine as one of the 50 Most Influential People in Healthcare of 2018.^[30] Twice his work was among those selected by Science as the "Breakthrough of the Year," in 2008 for reprogramming and again in 2013 for the generation of mini-organs.^{[31] [32]}

See also

• Chimera (genetics)
• Gene therapy
• Genome editing
• Regeneration
• Xenotransplantation

Notes and References

1. Web site: Old Izpisua Belmonte Website. dead. https://web.archive.org/web/20120125103658/http://www.salk.edu/labs/belmonte/people.php. 2012-01-25.
2. Web site: CMRB Director.
3. Web site: Regalado. Antonio. Police got called to an overcrowded presentation on "rejuvenation" technology. 17 July 2023. MIT Technolog Review.
4. News: NYT Regeneration. The New York Times . 9 November 2009 . Wade . Nicholas .
5. News: NYT Aging. The New York Times . 15 December 2016 . Wade . Nicholas .
6. News: NYT Gene Editing. The New York Times . 2 August 2017 . Belluck . Pam .
7. News: El Pais Regeneration. El País . 23 March 2001 . Sampedro . Javier .
8. News: El Pais Asymmetry . El País. 6 August 1998. Elvira. Malen Ruiz de.
9. News: El Pais Wing Gene. El País . 5 May 1999 . Capdevila . Javier .
10. News: El Pais Gene. El País . 7 November 1998 .
11. News: El Pais Chimera. El País . 6 May 2015 . Sampedro . Javier .
12. News: El Pais Organoids. El País . 17 November 2013 . Sampedro . Javier .
13. Web site: Stat Human Pig Chimera. 7 August 2017 .
14. Web site: Salk Institute Profile.
15. Nature Fanconi Anemia. Nature . July 2009 . 460 . 7251 . 9 . 10.1038/7251009a .
16. Nature Medicine Wound Healing. Nature Medicine . September 2018 . 24 . 9 . 1311–1312 . 10.1038/s41591-018-0179-3 . Naik . Shruti . 30194410 .
17. Web site: SDUT Profile. 5 August 2017 .
18. New Yorker Aging. .
19. News: WP Gene Therapy. .
20. Web site: LAT Gene Editing. . 2 August 2017 .
21. News: WP Gene Editing. .
22. Web site: Correcting Fanconi anaemia - healthy cells derived from diseased ones offer treatment hope. 2021-09-13. New York Stem Cell Foundation. en-US.
23. Web site: 2019-10-18. Artificial embryos draw closer with Salk Institute work in mice. 2021-09-13. San Diego Union-Tribune. en-US.
24. Cyranoski. David. 2019-10-31. Primate embryos grown in the lab for longer than ever before. Nature. en. 575. 7781. 17–18. 10.1038/d41586-019-03326-5. 31690853 . 2019Natur.575...17C . 207896205 .
25. Human Muscle Cells are Growing Inside of a Pig. 2021-09-13. Time. en.
26. News: Wade. Nicholas. 2017-01-26. New Prospects for Growing Human Replacement Organs in Animals. en-US. The New York Times. 2021-09-13. 0362-4331.
27. News: 2021-04-15. Researchers have created embryos that are part-human and part-monkey. The Economist. 2021-09-13. 0013-0613.
28. News: Hotz. Robert Lee. 2021-04-26. Creation of First Human-Monkey Embryos Sparks Concern. en-US. Wall Street Journal. 2021-09-13. 0099-9660.
29. Web site: IESIB.
30. Web site: 2018 Time Health Care 50.
31. Vogel. Gretchen. 2008-12-19. Reprogramming Cells. Science. 322 . 5909 . 1766–1767 . 10.1126/science.322.5909.1766 . 19095902 . 10410812 . EN.
32. 2013-12-20. Human Cloning at Last. Science. 342 . 6165 . 1436–1437 . 10.1126/science.342.6165.1436-a . 24357287 . EN.