RESEARCH & INNOVATION GOING FORWARD

Meet Steven Stice, PhD

Education:

Ph.D. - University of Massachusetts
M.S. - Iowa State University
B.S. - University of Illinois

Professional Appointments:

Co-Founder, UGA Regenerative Bioscience Center
Co-Founder and Chief Scientific Officer, Aruna Biomedical, Inc., 2005-Present
Professor and Georgia Research Alliance Eminent Scholar, University of Georgia, 1998-Present
Co-Founder and CSO, Advanced Cell Technology, 1994-1998

HIGHLIGHTS:

University Inventor of the Year and Academic Entrepreneur of the Year, 2023
Fellow, National Academy of Inventors, 2017
First neural cell derived product to be cleared by the FDA for a neurological condition (stroke)
UGA is first in the nation to offer an undergraduate Major in Regenerative Bioscience

Website:

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Innovative Neural Stem Cell Therapy for Stroke Enters New Trial Phase

Over the course of my career, I’ve met lots of people who’ve had a stroke or suffered traumatic brain injuries, and currently, there is no cure. 

There aren’t many treatments that are really beneficial to these patients. Traditional medicines typically slow the progression of these diseases and conditions, but our focus at the Regenerative Bioscience Center is to ask how we can put things back to the way they once were. We want patients who’ve experienced a stroke to recover and live a life that is meaningful to them and their family.

Currently, we’re researching how a novel stem cell therapy can rebuild the brain by enhancing the body’s self-repair system to treat a range of neurodegenerative disorders. It’s a very exciting technology that we’ve developed here at the University of Georgia, and it’s pending a first-of-its-kind clinical trial in humans for the treatment of stroke.

This neural exosome-based therapeutic patent is held by a private biotechnology company that I co-founded and serve as the Chief Scientific Officer, Aruna Bio. The University of Georgia has been instrumental in supporting our start-up’s success and is a proving ground for several critical collaborations across campus. An NSF grant for cell manufacturing supports the complex manufacturing processes we require for this therapeutic, and it’s the only way to make drugs like these affordable to reach a larger population. We can’t do it alone, which is why we work with UGA engineers, biologists, and clinicians, as well as other disciplines. 

Stroke, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s and TBIs affect millions of people. What we’re trying to do is something that has never been done before. But that inspires the work we do at the Regenerative Bioscience Center. We feel like our knowledge and research can make a difference in their lives.

“Our goal is to find solutions that can help people immediately. For stroke patients, with our cell therapy advancing through clinical trials, we're trying to make a difference sooner rather than later.”

Steven Stice, Director and Co-Founder of the UGA Regenerative Bioscience Center

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