Last year, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) honored Sean J. Morrison, Ph.D., Director of Children’s Medical Center Research Institute at UT Southwestern with the 2022 ISSCR Public Service Award.

The prize recognizes the outstanding contributions of public service to the fields of stem cell research and regenerative medicine.

“Sean has long been a strong and vocal advocate for the ISSCR,” Melissa Little, Ph.D., ISSCR President, said. “As a former ISSCR president as well as chair of the Society’s Policy Committee since its inception in 2015, Sean has dedicated extensive time and experience identifying opportunities and challenges facing the global stem cell research community and raising the effectiveness and visibility for the ISSCR’s advocacy efforts. This includes his long-standing leadership of the committee, vigilance on unproven and unapproved cellular therapies, and unwavering support of fetal tissue research.”

Dr. Morrison studies the mechanisms that regulate stem cell function and the role these mechanisms play in cancer. He completed a B.Sc. in biology and chemistry at Dalhousie University (1991), a Ph.D. in immunology at Stanford University (1996), and a postdoctoral fellowship in neurobiology at Caltech (1999). He is a Howard Hughes Medical Institute Investigator (since 2000) and Director of CRI (since 2011).

“The people who understand the science have to explain it to the public and to policy makers, or we will have policies that undermine public health and the development of new therapies,” Dr. Morrison said. “I am grateful to the ISSCR for this recognition, but mostly for all the work it, and its members, have done over the past 20 years to promote good research and the development of new therapies that are now saving lives.”