Welcoming our new postdoc: Dr. Regan Scott

Posted on by Thor Theunissen

We’re pleased to announce the arrival of our new postdoc, Dr. Regan Scott, from the Michael J. Soares lab at Kansas University Medical Center. Regan received her B.S. from Kansas State University and M.S. in Biomedical Sciences from Kansas City University. During her graduate studies with Professor Soares, Regan studied placental development with a focus on trophoblast stem cell differentiation to the invasive lineage. After receiving her Ph.D. in 2025, she joined the Theunissen lab to continue advancing the field of stem cell and developmental biology. Regan is a strong advocate for scientific research and reproductive health, and in her spare time she enjoys baking, doing puzzles, being outdoors, and spending time with family, friends, and her pets.

Regan, welcome to the team!

Review article in CMLS

Posted on by Thor Theunissen

Together with Kyoung and Richard, we wrote a review article in Cellular and Molecule Life Sciences on the diverse repertoire of cell fates accessible to naive human pluripotent stem cells. When we first derived these cells over a decade ago, little did we know that they harbored such broad developmental potential and would ultimately become a cornerstone of human embryo models.

Check it out in CMLS: https://tinyurl.com/3td35h47

News & Views in Nature

Posted on by Thor Theunissen

Kong and Thor wrote a News & Views in Nature on a groundbreaking stem-cell-based monkey embryo model that offers a continuous window on early primate development, from the pre-implantation stage all the way to late gastrulation, when the basic body plan is established and primitive organs start to form. This system offers a powerful in vitro platform for dissecting the dynamic, stepwise processes that define early embryogenesis.

Congratulations to Zhen Liu and colleagues at the Institute of Neuroscience (ION), Chinese Academy of Sciences, Shanghai for their remarkable achievement.

Take a look at our News & Views using the following link: bit.ly/4iGpuj6.

The original study from Zhen Liu”s lab: bit.ly/4pMt8Kl

Preview in Cell Stem Cell

Posted on by Thor Theunissen

Kong and Thor wrote a Preview on two exciting new papers from the labs of Jose Silva (Guangzhou) and Jun Wu (UT Southwestern) in the October 2025 issue of Cell Stem Cell. In this piece, we discuss how they independently developed refined strategies to assemble human post-implantation embryo models with greater accuracy and efficiency.

Take a look at our Preview using the following link: https://lnkd.in/gZWa67WK

The original study from Jose Silva’s lab: https://tinyurl.com/ymt6nya7

The original study from Jun Wu’s lab: https://tinyurl.com/5hu7z2k8