The Reijo Pera Laboratory investigates a range of areas including germ cell and embryo development, sex-linked developmental disorders, degenerative diseases like Parkinson’s and urinary incontinence. The project I work on focuses on the differentiation of human Embryonic Stem Cells (hESCs) to smooth muscle cells for the treatment of Stress Urinary Incontinence. This condition is predominantly caused by loss of function in the urethral sphincter, which is often a result of pregnancy, childbirth, and aging. This sphincter is composed primarily of smooth muscle cells (SMCs) under involuntary control of the autonomic nervous system. It is believed that regeneration of these cells would result in a renewal of function in the sphincter. Previous studies in the lab have shown that vascular progenitors (CD31+ & CD34+) can differentiate into functional smooth muscle cells as well as endothelial cells. Currently I am using hESCs to optimize this differentiation by using xeno-free and defined culture conditions, in order to make GMP/clinical grade SMCs. These SMCs would then be injected into an incontinent rat model to demonstrate their functional efficiency in vivo and their ability to repair the damaged sphincter. Concurrently their safety and long term survival in vivo will also be assessed. Additionally, I am also deriving clinical grade iPSCs using episomal vectors which would be an excellent source of autologous cells. I will assess the potential of these iPSCs to generate functional SMCs, which would more closely tailor the cell treatment to each patient’s unique biological makeup and could potentially reduce immune rejection.