The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) has recognized five outstanding scientists with Poster Awards at the ISSCR 2026 Annual Meeting, honoring innovative research spanning developmental biology, disease modeling, regenerative medicine, and functional genomics.

Selected from more than 1,300 scientific posters presented during the meeting, the awards recognize exceptional research and scientific communication. Winning posters were evaluated by senior stem cell scientists attending the meeting, underscoring the rigor and peer recognition behind the awards.

‍New, previously unpublished clinical data was presented today at ISSCR 2026 demonstrating that transplanted human neural progenitor cells survived for at least one year following subretinal transplantation in patients with retinitis pigmentosa (RP), while maintaining a favorable safety profile.

‍Retinitis pigmentosa is a group of inherited retinal diseases that progressively causes vision loss currently has no treatment for most patients. Because thousands of different genetic mutations can cause the disease, developing mutation-specific gene therapies remains challenging. Cell-based therapies offer the potential for a gene-agnostic approach that could benefit a broader population of patients.

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) today announced the presentation of new clinical data from the STEM-PD Phase I/II clinical trial at the ISSCR 2026 Annual Meeting. The study reports 12-month outcomes evaluating a cryopreserved, off-the-shelf dopaminergic progenitor cell product derived from human pluripotent stem cells for the treatment of Parkinson's disease.

The findings provide new insights into the safety, feasibility, and biological activity of stem cell-derived dopaminergic cell transplantation in patients with Parkinson’s disease and represent another important step in the clinical translation of regenerative medicine for neurodegenerative disease.