STEMCELL Technologies is a Canadian biotechnology company based in Vancouver, British Columbia, that supplies laboratory reagents to scientists researching stem cells worldwide. Human pluripotent stem cells (hPSC) are special cells that can develop into many different types of cells in the body, making them very useful for treating diseases and injuries. STEMCELL is looking to expand its product offerings in the hPSC  market. Typically, different types of cells are generated from hPSCs by supplying external factors and small molecules and can take up to over 100 days to differentiate into desired cell types.  An alternative approach is delivering Transcription Factor (TF), proteins which direct the hPSC into different cell types through regulating gene expression.  However, there are over 1,500 TFs in the human genome and how they create different cell types is a complex process that still needs to be fully understood.

This project is a collaboration between STEMCELL and Dr. Nozumu Yachie at UBC. It aims to use a large-scale assay system to efficiently decipher the impact of combinatorial TFs in diverse hPSC differentiation. TFs alone or in combination will be assayed and selected for their ability to direct hPSCs into specific cell types of interest using flow cytometry and single-cell RNA sequencing.  Once candidate TFs have been identified, protocols for hPSC differentiation will be refined and prepared for commercialization. Using TFs over standard hPSC differentiation techniques will reduce the time to differentiate, increase efficiency and minimize off-target cell types. By developing new products and technologies to support the hPSC sector, STEMCELL hopes to make it easier for researchers and doctors to develop new treatments for various diseases using stem cells.