Stem Cell Pioneer, Dr. Jeanne Loring, joins LMI Scientific Advisory Board
Loving Mind Institute, Inc. a national non-profit organization dedicated to advancing biomedical research and scientific initiatives in mental illness and addiction announces that Professor Jeanne Loring, Ph.D., a pioneer in the field of stem cell biology, has joined its Scientific Advisory Board. Dr. Loring’s scientific achievements and accomplishments have been recognized by numerous organizations for her groundbreaking work in regenerative medicine.
“It is a great honor to have Dr. Loring join the Loving Mind Institute Scientific Advisory Board,” says Marion J. Riggs, LMI Founder and Executive Director. Mental illness and addiction are highly prevalent and disabling conditions with 44.7 million and 21.5 million Americans experiencing these disorders in any given year, respectively. Stem cell and cellular reprogramming technologies, such as induced pluripotent stem cells, provide significant innovation and unique opportunity to model these disorders in human neuronal systems with a genetic background.
About Jeanne F. Loring, Ph.D.
Jeanne F. Loring is a Professor and the founding Director of the Center for Regenerative Medicine at The Scripps Research Institute in La Jolla. Her laboratory studies human pluripotent stem cells (hPSCs), the remarkable cells that can make every cell type in the body. Her lab is developing a patient-specific cell replacement therapy for Parkinson’s disease and a stem cell-based treatment for multiple sclerosis, and they are studying the underlying causes of autism. With the San Diego Zoo, her lab is developing a “zoo” of induced pluripotent stem cells from endangered species to aid in their conservation. Dr. Loring serves on many scientific and bioethics advisory boards and is frequently quoted in major newspapers, appears on television and in documentary features, and gives many public lectures about science and society. She is particularly concerned with the dangers of unregulated stem cell treatments in the US and other countries (“stem cell tourism”). In 2015, she was designated “Stem Cell Person of the Year” by The Niche blog, and was awarded the Stem Cell Action Advocacy Award by the World Stem Cell Summit.
About the Loving Mind Institute
The Loving Mind Institute (LMI), Inc. is a national non-profit organization dedicated to advancing biomedical research and scientific initiatives in mental illness and addiction. Mental illness and addiction are devastating to patients, friends, family, and to society as a whole. The numbers are staggering. 1 in 6 American adults (44.7 million) live with a form mental illness from mild to severe, and 10.4 million suffer from a severe form of mental illness. In 2014, approximately 21.5 million people aged 12 and older had a substance use disorder in the past year. To address this public health crisis, LMI coordinates scientific and educational campaigns aimed at improving medical and therapeutic outcomes for affected populations. Towards this aim, LMI will fund biomedical research and other targeted scientific initiatives that fundamentally improve our knowledge and treatment of these conditions. As part of our scientific initiatives outreach, LMI utilizes print, social media, and digital tools to translate scientific progress and treatment information to the community.