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Laertis Ikonomou PhD
Associate Professor
The State University of New York at Buffalo
USA
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Dr. Laertis Ikonomou is an Associate Professor at the Department of Oral Biology, University at Buffalo, The State University of New York. He was awarded his PhD in Biochemical Engineering from the Université Catholique de Louvain in Belgium and received postdoctoral training in Stem Cell and Developmental Biology at the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases (NIDDK) and the BU School of Medicine Pulmonary Center.
His major research interests are in the areas of pluripotent stem cell biology, developmental biology and stem cell engineering, with emphasis on foregut and neural crest in vivo biology and its applications in directed differentiation of pluripotent stem cells. In addition to his research, Dr. Ikonomou has been involved since 2013 in education and information activities regarding unproven and unregulated cell- and gene-based interventions as a member of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Stem Cell Working Group and the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT) Committee on the Ethics of Cell and Gene Therapy (ECGT). Among these activities, Dr. Ikonomou has spearheaded and co-authored perspectives, editorials, and informational guides aimed at patients, clinicians, and cell/gene therapy developers. He has also organized and moderated ISCT-sponsored webinars covering bioethical and regulatory questions in the cell/gene therapy space. He is currently the chair of the ISCT ECGT.
His major research interests are in the areas of pluripotent stem cell biology, developmental biology and stem cell engineering, with emphasis on foregut and neural crest in vivo biology and its applications in directed differentiation of pluripotent stem cells. In addition to his research, Dr. Ikonomou has been involved since 2013 in education and information activities regarding unproven and unregulated cell- and gene-based interventions as a member of the American Thoracic Society (ATS) Stem Cell Working Group and the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy (ISCT) Committee on the Ethics of Cell and Gene Therapy (ECGT). Among these activities, Dr. Ikonomou has spearheaded and co-authored perspectives, editorials, and informational guides aimed at patients, clinicians, and cell/gene therapy developers. He has also organized and moderated ISCT-sponsored webinars covering bioethical and regulatory questions in the cell/gene therapy space. He is currently the chair of the ISCT ECGT.