Helen Blau

Helen M. Blau, Ph.D. is the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Foundation Professor and Director of the Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology at Stanford University.  Blau is world-renowned for her early work on nuclear reprogramming and demonstration of the plasticity of cell fate using cell fusion.  Her lab has embraced multidisciplinary approaches to characterize the potent muscle stem cell (MuSC) population that is poised to repair muscle throughout life. Blau’s innovation has led to 20 patents, garnered an NIH MERIT Award, an NIH Director’s Transformative Research Award, an NIH EUREKA Grant for Exceptionally Innovative Research, and generous funding from the Li Ka Shing Foundation and the Milky Way Foundation. A major emphasis of her work is to promote healthspan by rejuvenation of muscle stem cells and tissues. A hallmark of her work is the development of interdisciplinary technologies that enable novel fundamental insights. Blau’s lab recently made the striking discovery that aged muscle stem cells and tissues can be rejuvenated and muscle strength increased by targeting a single enzyme, 15-PGDH, the Prostaglandin E2 degrading enzyme, which she termed a “gerozyme”, a pivotal molecular determinant of aging.  These findings hold promise for translation to the clinic to augment strength in patients with muscular dystrophies, disuse atrophy, and sarcopenia. Dr. Blau is a co-inventor on 20 patents. She is a member of the Board of Directors and program committee of ISSCR.  She is an elected member of American Academy of Arts and Sciences,  Pontifical Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, and National Academy of Sciences.