The pioneering work of biologist Helen Blau, Ph.D., the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation Professor and Director of the Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology at Stanford University, centers on stem cell research and aging. Her early findings challenged the dogma that the specialized state of cells was fixed and could not be changed. Once a liver cell, always a liver cell. She created a cell fusion system and showed that cells of all 3 human lineages could be induced to activate muscle genes they would never normally express. This work was a breakthrough, as it provided evidence that human cell fate is plastic and reprogrammable and was featured on the cover of Science under the banner “Frontiers in Biology” in 1985.
Interested in telomeres, Blau’s lab showed that Duchenne muscular dystrophy is a disease of telomere and stem cell exhaustion and discovered an unexpected role for telomere shortening in human cardiac failure.
The Blau Lab recently discovered a new hallmark of aging, which she termed a “gerozyme,” They identified a drug that inhibits the gerozyme, which increases Prostaglandin E2 levels and leads to a remarkable regeneration and rejuvenation of aged muscles. Muscle mass, strength and endurance running on a treadmill are significantly increased after treatment. This is due to its pleiotropic effects — it rejuvenates muscle stem cells, muscle fibers, and restores connections with the neurons that innervate them.
Blau’s goal is to bring this drug to patients to treat muscle wasting due to disuse, disease or aging. “I want to increase healthspan and muscle function is central to quality of life. Currently there are no approved drugs to build muscle, so this represents an unmet need.”
Earning her Ph.D. in Biology at Harvard University, Blau then completed postdoctoral work in medical genetics at the University of California, San Francisco, before joining Stanford University. She has served as a member of the National Advisory Council for the National Institute of Aging, as President of the American Society for Developmental Biology, President of the International Society for Differentiation, and as a board member of the American Society for Gene Therapy.
She earned the National Medal of Science for her groundbreaking research in 2024, a Lifetime Achievement Award from the International Society for Regenerative Biology, and is a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. She was elected to the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, Royal Society (UK), and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences that advises the Pope. Many of her publications are in Nature and Science, and she has 16 issued U.S. patents for her work, including one on lengthening telomeres as a potential therapeutic strategy for degenerative diseases, a technology being pursued by a biotech she co-founded Rejuvenation Tech. She is also the co-founder of Myoforte which was acquired by Epirium Bio and is in clinical trials with the anti-gerozyme drug.
We are delighted to welcome Dr. Blau to DOC 2025 and our growing team of Faculty and Specialists!