Esma S. Yolcu, MSC, PhD

University of Missouri – Columbia (MU)

Dr. Yolcu has a significant interest in using hematopoietic stem cells for the treatment of bone marrow failure syndrome and hematological malignancies as well as a means of immunomodulation to prevent/treat type 1 diabetes and allograft rejection. Imperative to these efforts is the development of a novel proprietary platform technology, ProtExTM, that allows; i) the generation of novel immune ligands with robust immune stimulatory or suppressive functions; and ii) the temporary display of these ligands, either individually or in combination, on biological and non-biological surfaces for localized immunomodulation. Dr. Yolcu ‘s work has been funded by numerous federal and non-federal government agencies, including the National Institutes of Health, AHA, ADA and JDRF.