IFATS Conference 2016 summary: Fat Grafts, adipose stem cells, and the big picture

As some of you who read this blog regularly already know, I am a huge proponent of fat grafting and the therapeutic applications of adipose stem cells.

Ever since 2009 I have been writing about the regenerative properties of fat grafts and stem cells. After joining IFATS, the International Federation for Adipose Therapeutics and Science, an organization devoted to the study of adipose tissue, I have become increasingly more involved.

In 2013 I was awarded a Maryland Stem Cell Grant to study the use of adipose stem cells to heal breast tissue damaged by radiation. Last year I was elected President of IFATS, and tomorrow I will be presiding over the 14th annual conference in San Diego. I am extremely excited about all that we have planned. Over 160 abstracts will be presented and they are all fabulous! Here is a bit of an overview about what is planned for the 2016 IFATS meeting.

IFATS 2016: San Diego, California

We’ll be kicking off this year’s IFATS meeting with an exciting morning dedicated to ‘Fat graft process engineering’. Later we will focus on the therapeutic applications of adipose stem cells. We’re bringing together not only the leading clinical practitioners, but also leading endocrinologists, experts in the field of genomics and big data as applied to medicine, and stem cell researchers from other specialties such as cardiology and orthopedics.

Keynote speakers include Sydney Coleman, MD, who will be speaking about The Process of Fat grafting and Carlos M. Isales, MD, who will be speaking about Bone, fat and aging: therapeutic options.

We will also be welcoming speakers who will be focused on big data and machine learning in Medicine. This includes a keynote by Google’s director of software engineering, Philip Nelson, who will present applications of machine learning in medicine.

Don’t miss this rare opportunity to get “the big picture” about fat grafting, from the bench to clinical uses and beyond to the possibilities of applying “big data” techniques to our growing knowledge.

“Don’t miss this rare opportunity to get the Big Picture about fat grafting”

-Dr. Rodriguez

The IFATS program will involve the presentation of over 160 abstracts on a wide range of fat grafting and adipose stem cell topics affecting researchers, clinicians, the biotech industry, and patients.

Keynote and guest speakers include

• The Role of Genomics complementing Cell Based Therapy
  Dietrich Stephan, PhD – Professor and Chair of the Department of Human Genetics at the University of Pittsburgh Graduate School of Public Health
• Bone, Fat, Aging- Explaining Fat’s therapeutic role in Medicine and Aging
  Carlos Isales, MD, Professor of Neuroscience and Regenerative Medicine at Augusta University
• Machine Learning in Clinical Medicine
  Philip Nelson, Director of Software Engineering, lead of translational research team at Google, focusing on applications of machine learning in Medicine
• Adipose Derived Stromal Cells for soft and hard tissue clinical needs
  Michael Longaker MD, co-director of Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford University

Presentation topics include

• Fat graft process engineering
• Industry showcase of companies involved in fat graft/stem cell processing
• Adipose stem cell biology, characterization, and isolation techniques
• Safety and efficacy of ASCs in breast reconstruction
• Antibacterial affects of Adipose Stem Cells
• Using ultrasounds and machine learning techniques
• FDA and regulatory issues with adipose stem cells
• Pilot studies and therapeutic applications using adipose fat and stem cells in treatment of:
  • osteoarthritis
  • exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage
  • radiation damage
  • migranes
  • acne and scars
  • burns
  • organ transplants
  • myocardial ischemia
  • flap survival
  • HIV therapy
  • Parry-Romberg syndrome
  • gluteal augmentation

Clinical trial updates include

Updates on human and animal clinical trials using SVF and adipose stem cells for the following indications will be featured on Friday and Saturday sessions:

• hair loss and alopecia
• wrist arthritis
• erectile dysfunction
• urinary incontinence
• crohn’s disease
• facial atrophy in HIV

You can find the entire program on the IFATS website.

More about IFATS

Founded in 2003, IFATS is a non-profit scientific society that promotes the exchange of information among researches and is currently the world’s only interdisciplinary fat tissue society. Committed to serving as the premier global incubator in the field of fat applied technology, current scientific areas of interest relate to facilitating the development of treatments for excess body fat, the generation of new fat tissue for reconstruction after cancer or birth-related defects and the use of adipose tissue as a source of mesenchymal stem cells that have the potential to regenerate and repair different body tissues. Learn more at IFATS.org.

(Article originally published November 16, 2016)