23 Facts About Helen Blau

Helen Blau is a cell biologist and stem cell researcher famous for her work on muscle diseases, regeneration and aging.

Helen Blau is the Donald E and Delia B Baxter Foundation Professor and the Director of the Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology at Stanford University.

Helen Blau's research established that the fate of mammalian cells can be altered.

Helen Blau's finding that specialized cells can be triggered to turn on genetic programs characteristic of other differentiated states provided early evidence that mammalian cellular reprogramming was possible and opened the door to the use of reprogramming in stem cell biology.

Helen Blau is known internationally for her work on adult stem cells and how they maintain, repair and rejuvenate tissues, in particular muscle.

Helen Blau discovered ways to rejuvenate aged stem cell function.

Helen Blau was born in London and is a dual citizen of the United States and Great Britain.

Helen Blau was awarded an endowed chair in 1999 and named Director of the Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology in 2002.

In 2008, Helen Blau published the first parameters for isolating muscle stem cells, known as satellite cells, using flow cytometry.

Helen Blau's lab pioneered the use of bioluminescence imaging to monitor the dynamics of muscle stem cell engraftment in muscles in live mice and confirmed that the cells were true stem cells, capable of both self-renewal and differentiation.

In 2014 Helen Blau's lab provided early evidence that stem cell function declines during aging due to internal defects, in addition to external factors.

In 2017 Helen Blau's lab identified prostaglandin E2 as a critical component of the inflammatory response that orchestrates the natural muscle repair process.

In 2021 Helen Blau discovered that with aging muscles accumulate increasing amounts of the enzyme 15-PGDH, the prostaglandin degrading enzyme which breaks down PGE2.

Helen Blau is actively involved in efforts to translate these findings to the clinic.

Helen Blau is an ardent inventor who holds 16 issued US patents and numerous international patents which focus on assays of protein interactions, methods for telomere extension and tissue regeneration.

Helen Blau earned an Outstanding Inventor Award from the Stanford University Office of Technology Licensing and is recognized as one of Stanford's top innovators.

Helen Blau was elected to the National Academy of Inventors in 2017.

Helen Blau consults for biotechnology and pharmaceutical companies and is the founder of two companies focused on regenerative medicine to increase healthspan.

Helen Blau is known for her support of women in science and her success in mentoring numerous young scientists who comprise the next generation of academic leaders in muscle biology, stem cell biology and regenerative medicine.

Helen Blau has served on many prominent scientific advisory boards and councils, including the Harvard Board of Overseers, the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Medicine, NIH National Institute on Aging, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the American Society for Cell Biology, American Society for Gene Therapy, Ellison Medical Foundation, and the International Society for Stem Cell Research.

Helen Blau has served as the president of the American Society for Developmental Biology and president of the International Society of Differentiation.

Helen Blau has organized numerous national and international conferences and is an elected member of the Pontifical Academy of Sciences that advises Pope Francis at the Vatican.

Helen Blau is an active proponent of the ethical use of stem cells, fetal tissues and animals in research and she has contributed to multiple articles in the New England Journal of Medicine discussing animal research policies and the use of human fetal tissue in medicine.