Gordon M. Keller is a Canadian scientist recognized for his research on applying

developmental biology Developmental biology is the study of the process by which animals and plants grow and develop. Developmental biology also encompasses the biology of Regeneration (biology), regeneration, asexual reproduction, metamorphosis, and the growth and di ...

findings to ''in vitro'' pluripotent stem cell differentiation. He is currently a Senior Scientist at the Ontario Cancer Institute, a Professor at the University of Toronto and the director of the

McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine The McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine was established at University Health Network in Toronto in 2003, with a donation from Rob and Cheryl McEwen, which they matched in 2006 with a second donation. The McEwen Centre's vision is to be a wo ...

Biography

Keller was born in 1952 in Melville, Saskatchewan and was raised on a farm. He completed his Bachelor of Science at the University of Saskatchewan. He completed his PhD in Immunology at the University of Alberta in 1979, and completed his postdoctoral fellowship with the Ontario Cancer Institute in 1983. He then began his career in Switzerland and Austria. In 1990, he moved to the United States. Initially, Keller was at the National Jewish Centre for Immunology and Respiratory Medicine in Denver, CO and later moved to the

Mount Sinai School of Medicine The Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai (ISMMS or Mount Sinai), formerly the Mount Sinai School of Medicine, is a private medical school in New York City. It is the academic teaching arm of the Mount Sinai Health System, which manages eigh ...

in New York City, NY. In 2007, Keller returned to Canada to assume his current role and established his laboratory at the MaRS Centre/Toronto Medical Discovery Tower. In 2016, Keller co-founded Toronto-based BlueRock Therapeutics with Lorenz Studer for the development of iPSC-derived cells for clinical transplantation.

Scientific research

In 1997, Keller's team was the first to successfully isolate the developmentally significant

hemangioblast Hemangioblasts are the multipotent precursor cells that can differentiate into both hematopoietic stem cells, hematopoietic and endothelial cells. In the mouse embryo, the emergence of blood islands in the yolk sac at embryonic day 7 marks the ons ...

—a multipotent precursor cell that can differentiate to the

hematopoietic Haematopoiesis (, from Greek , 'blood' and 'to make'; also hematopoiesis in American English; sometimes also h(a)emopoiesis) is the formation of blood cellular components. All cellular blood components are derived from haematopoietic stem cells. ...

and

endothelial cell The endothelium is a single layer of squamous endothelial cells that line the interior surface of blood vessels and lymphatic vessels. The endothelium forms an interface between circulating blood or lymph in the lumen and the rest of the vessel ...

fates—using embryonic stem cell technology. Currently, the Keller group's research includes the differentiation of pluripotent stem cells to the endodermal lineage: hepatocytes, cholangiocytes and

pancreatic The pancreas is an Organ (anatomy), organ of the digestive system and endocrine system of vertebrates. In humans, it is located in the abdominal cavity, abdomen behind the stomach and functions as a gland. The pancreas is a mixed or heterocrine ...

progenitors; as well as to mesodermal cell fates: cardiomyocytes,

chondrocytes Chondrocytes (, from Greek χόνδρος, ''chondros'' = cartilage + κύτος, ''kytos'' = cell) are the only cells found in healthy cartilage. They produce and maintain the cartilaginous matrix, which consists mainly of collagen and proteog ...

, T lymphocytes and

myeloid Myeloid tissue, in the bone marrow sense of the word '' myeloid'' ('' myelo-'' + ''-oid''), is tissue of bone marrow, of bone marrow cell lineage, or resembling bone marrow, and myelogenous tissue (''myelo-'' + '' -genous'') is any tissue of, ...

precursors.

Honours

Keller holds a Tier I

Canada Research Chair Canada Research Chair (CRC) is a title given to certain Canadian university research professors by the Canada Research Chairs Program. Program goals The Canada Research Chair program was established in 2000 as a part of the Government of Canada ...

in Embryonic Stem Cell Biology (2013-2020). He serves on the Scientific Advisory Boards of th
Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicine
and Stemgent, and is also a founding member and past president (2005-2006) of the

International Society for Stem Cell Research The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Skokie, Illinois, United States. The organization's mission is to promote excellence in stem cell science and applications to hum ...

.Centre for Commercialization of Regenerative Medicin
"Lead Scientist: Gordon Keller"
/ref> In addition, he is a senior editor for the journal ''Development''.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Keller, Gordon Stem cell researchers Canada Research Chairs Academic staff of the University of Toronto Scientists from Saskatchewan Living people 1952 births Scientists from Toronto University of Saskatchewan alumni University of Alberta alumni 20th-century Canadian scientists 21st-century Canadian biologists