Melissa H. Little, PhD
Citation: Kidney News 16, 10/11
An internationally recognized researcher will describe the state-of-the-art lecture in “Understanding, Improving, and Applying Human Pluripotent Stem Cell-Derived Kidney Tissues” at a plenary session on Saturday, October 26. Melissa H. Little, PhD, is chief executive officer of the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine, chief scientist at the Murdoch Children's Research Institute, and leader of the Kidney Regeneration Laboratory in Melbourne, Australia.
A top pioneer in the field of renal stem cell biology and renal regeneration, Dr. Little has spent decades developing new regenerative treatment options. She was part of the first team to successfully grow human kidney organoids in a petri dish and performed pioneering studies into potential regenerative therapies in the kidney. This work has revolutionized the field by providing researchers with a safer and more effective way to study diseases and test drugs. Dr. Little's approach to generating kidney organoids from human pluripotent stem cells has been adopted across the globe, where it is being applied to disease modeling, drug screening, and renal replacement therapies.
Dr. Little is the immediate past president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research and holds an honorary position as professor in the Department of Pediatrics at The University of Melbourne. She has previously been president of the Australasian Society for Stem Cell Research, program leader of Stem Cells Australia, and chief scientific officer of the Australian Stem Cell Centre. She is a companion of the Order of Australia and a fellow of the Australian Academy of Science, the Australian Academy of Health and Medical Sciences, and The Royal Danish Academy of Sciences and Letters. She serves on the editorial boards of Cell Stem Cell, Nature Reviews Nephrology, Development, and Kidney International.
Dr. Little has received many awards for her work, including the GlaxoSmithKline Award for Research Excellence, an Eisenhower Fellowship, a Boerhaave Professorship and honorary doctorate from Leiden University, the Eureka Prize from the Australian Museum, the Alfred Newton Richards Award from the International Society of Nephrology for her kidney organoid research, the Julian Wells Medal for her outstanding contribution to understanding the genetic basis of kidney development, and the Homer W. Smith Award from ASN for contributions to the science of nephrology,
Dr. Little received a doctorate in biochemistry from The University of Queensland.
