A comparative study of stem cell innovation in the UK: Interviews

This data collection consists of interview transcripts (N=8) with university based stem cell scientists(both research active and retired).

Transforming stem cell science into stem cell therapies raises important challenges, including both scientific and technical difficulties, and those that attend interdisciplinary collaboration and creating infrastructures conducive to effective translation.
This project works towards developing a conceptual and empirical framework for understanding the processes, dynamics and problems of translation with respect to the haematopoietic stem cell (HSC), the first stem cell to be routinely used in the clinic, where, as HSC transplantation, it forms a cornerstone of cancer therapy.
This, together with its emerging position in the vanguard of regenerative medicine, renders the HSC a compelling subject for a comparative study of translation. HSC-based innovation in cancer medicine is characterized by incremental change within an established therapeutic paradigm and is driven largely by the public sector.
In contrast, within regenerative medicine, use of the HSC is highly innovative, involves new scientific/clinical/commercial interactions and is engendering novel forms of public/private collaboration. This comparative study of the dynamics and characteristics of translation within markedly different contexts seeks to develop crucial insights into the processes and problems in translating HSC science into clinical practice. From this, it seeks also to contribute to future policy by identifying practices and frameworks conducive to effective translation.