Hans S. Keirstead MD, PhD

Hans S. Keirstead, Ph.D. is Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology and Professor of Neurological Surgery at Reeve–Irvine Research Center, Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center, School of Medicine, University of California at Irvine. He is also Chairman of the Scientific Advisory Board at California Stem Cell.
An internationally known stem cell expert, Hans has pioneered a number of efforts in the field. He is Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology at the University of California, Irvine, where he led his team of researchers to successfully develop a human embryonic stem cell derived treatment for paralyzed rats. This treatment, sponsored by Geron Corporation, was approved by the FDA for clinical trials in humans with acute spinal injuries and is currently under way. This marks the first human embryonic stem cell trial ever approved in the U.S. Hans also developed developed another therapy, for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, that has successfully met primary endpoints in Phase II clinical trials and, more recently, he made headlines for creating a 3D retina derived from hESCs for the treatment of retinal diseases.