UConn Health University News

October 9, 2025 | Lauren Woods

Dr. Jaime Imitola of UConn Honored by the International Society of Stem Cell Research

ISSCR appoints Dr. Jaime Imitola chair of its Education Committee and honors him with its 2025 Public Service Award.

ISSCR Executive Committee honorees in large group including Dr Imitola.

The ISSCR Executive Committee honored members of committees, task forces, and working groups who dedicate tremendous talent and dedication to the ISSCR and its mission with the 2025 ISSCR Public Service Award, recognizing the commitment and talent of all ISSCR volunteer leaders, that includes stem cells researchers and leaders from all over the world. This is the first group award in the Society’s history and it includes honors for Dr. Jaime Imitola of UConn (second row, the fifth the from the left). Photo courtesy of ISSCR.

Dr. Jaime Imitola of UConn School of Medicine and UConn Health has been appointed chair of the International Society of Stem Cell Research’s (ISSCR) Education Committee for the next three years. He previously graciously served as the Committee’s vice chair.

As the world’s leading society for stem cell research, the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) prioritize efforts to ensure that discoveries in the field of stem cells are responsibly and safely translated into therapies. The current ISSCR Education Committee is comprised of 16 members that are stem cell researchers, clinician-scientists, and leaders from leading institutions worldwide.

At UConn’s medical school Imitola is a professor of neurology and vice chair of research in the Division of Multiple Sclerosis and Translational Neuroimmunology at UConn Health.

UConn's Dr. Jaime Imitola photo.
UConn medical school’s Dr. Jaime Imitola, professor of neurology, vice chair of research, Division of Multiple Sclerosis and Translational Neuroimmunology, UConn Health.

One of the main goals of the Education Committee over the past four years has focused on addressing a critical unmet need: the lack of accessible educational material on stem cell medicine for clinicians worldwide. As a result, in May Imitola and the ISSCR Education Committee globally launched a first-of-its-kind, free, open-access stem cell medicine continuing education course called “Stem Cell Medicine: From Scientific Research to Patient Care,” internationally in six languages. The course, produced and accredited by Harvard Medical School, provides for the first time critical education on the rapidly evolving stem cell medicine field and aims to protect patients from the potential physical and financial harms associated with the growing popularity of unproven stem cell tourism clinics.

Imitola, co-leader of the new stem cell medicine course, is a Harvard trained stem cell scientist who has extensively researched the negative impact of stem cell tourism and uses stem cell models to investigate neuroinflammation. The course’s launch was a tremendous success, and it has been taken online by more than 2,300 clinicians representing more than 40 countries. Furthermore, the Education Committee working with Harvard Medical School’s continuing medical education is preparing additional modules including, a module in Parkinson’s disease and additional education projects for the public about stem cell medicine, public support for funding, and rigor in the implementation of stem cell medicine, focusing on patients with incurable diseases to avoid their exploitation by clinics performing unproven procedures presented as legitimate stem cell research.

Public Service Honors for Dr. Imitola
The ISSCR also recently honored Imitola of UConn as one of the recipients of its 2025 Public Service Award for his ongoing leadership and work on education and research for stem cells. This is the first group award in the Society’s history and celebrates the excellence that fuels the tremendous accomplishments of the foremost global organization dedicated to stem cell science and regenerative medicine.

“As a stem cell physician-scientist dedicated to advance care of patients, it is great to be recognized by the ISSCR for our volunteer service and is very humbling, but our work to help benefit patients continues,” says Imitola.

Imitola and other award recipients were honored this June in Hong Kong at the ISSCR 2025 Annual Meeting. It is the largest meeting in the world gathering leading innovators in the field of stem cell research and regenerative medicine.

The ISSCR, with nearly 5,000 members from more than 80 countries, is the preeminent global, cross-disciplinary, science-based organization dedicated to stem cell research and its translation to the clinic. The ISSCR mission is to promote excellence in stem cell science and applications to human health. Patients and others can learn more from ISSCR at its AboutStemCells.org.

 

Read about Dr. Imitola’s work in the 2025 UConn School of Medicine annual report.