Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte

{{short description|Spanish biochemist and developmental biologist}}

{{Expert needed|medicine|ex2=biology|talk=|reason=To look over his research and claims related to the science and technology of rejuvenation|date=July 2023}}

{{Infobox scientist

| honorific_prefix =

| name = Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte

|image = Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte 2018.jpg

| birth_date = {{birth year and age|1960}}

| birth_place = Hellín, Albacete, Spain

| death_date =

| death_place =

| nationality = Spanish

| fields =Biochemistry

| workplaces =

| alma_mater = University of Valencia
University of Bologna

}}

Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte (born December 12, 1960, in Hellín, Albacete) is a Spanish biochemist and developmental biologist. He is a professor in the Gene Expression Laboratories at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, California, US since 1993.

Education

Izpisua Belmonte graduated from the University of Valencia, Spain with a bachelor's degree in Pharmacy and Science. He then earned a master's degree in pharmacology from the same university before moving on to complete his Ph.D. in Biochemistry and Pharmacology at the University of Bologna, Italy and the University of Valencia, Spain. He followed that with a stage as a postdoctoral fellow in different institutions, including the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL), in Heidelberg, Germany and University of California, Los Angeles (UCLA), Los Angeles, USA prior to moving to the Salk Institute in 1993.{{cite web|title=Old Izpisua Belmonte Website|url=http://www.salk.edu/labs/belmonte/people.php|url-status=dead|archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20120125103658/http://www.salk.edu/labs/belmonte/people.php|archivedate=2012-01-25}}

Career

In 2004, Izpisua Belmonte helped to establish the Center for Regenerative Medicine in Barcelona and was its Director between 2004 and 2014.{{cite web|title=CMRB Director|url=https://www.science.org/content/article/spanish-stem-cell-star-steps-down}}

He works as a specialist at Altos Labs. In 2023, due to the interest generated by his work, one of his presentations in Boston drew such a large crowd that it violated the fire code and was reduced by the police. A biologist has cautioned against "hype" and recommended waiting for more scientific publications.{{cite web|last=Regalado|first=Antonio|title=Police got called to an overcrowded presentation on "rejuvenation" technology|date=17 July 2023|work=MIT Technolog Review|url=https://www.technologyreview.com/2023/06/17/1075097/got-rejuvenation-better-call-security/}}

Research and claims

Izpisua Belmonte is a main catalyzer in one of today's most promising areas of biomedicine: regenerative medicine. His work may help to discover new molecules and specific gene/cell treatments to prevent and cure diseases affecting mankind both in the adult and embryonic stages, as well as inducing endogenous in vivo regenerative responses that may allow for tissue and organ regeneration in humans. It also may contribute to increase our knowledge of aging and aging-associated diseases, thereby leading to healthier aging and increased lifespan.{{cite news|title= NYT Regeneration|work=The New York Times |date=9 November 2009 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/09/science/09fish.html |last1=Wade |first1=Nicholas }}{{cite news|title= NYT Aging|work=The New York Times |date=15 December 2016 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2016/12/15/science/scientists-say-they-can-reset-clock-of-aging-for-mice-at-least.html |last1=Wade |first1=Nicholas }}{{cite news|title= NYT Gene Editing|work=The New York Times |date=2 August 2017 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/08/02/science/gene-editing-human-embryos.html |last1=Belluck |first1=Pam }}

His conceptual discoveries and methodologies for regenerative medicine include:

Elucidating some of the key cellular and molecular bases of how an organism with millions of cells develops from a single cell embryo after fertilization.{{cite news|title= El Pais Regeneration|newspaper=El País |date=23 March 2001 |url=https://elpais.com/diario/2001/03/23/sociedad/985302012_850215.html |last1=Sampedro |first1=Javier }}{{cite news|title= El Pais Asymmetry |newspaper= El País|date= 6 August 1998|url= https://elpais.com/diario/1998/08/06/sociedad/902354402_850215.html|last1= Elvira|first1= Malen Ruiz de}}{{cite news|title= El Pais Wing Gene|newspaper=El País |date=5 May 1999 |url=https://elpais.com/diario/1999/05/05/sociedad/925855221_850215.html |last1=Capdevila |first1=Javier }}{{cite news|title= El Pais Gene|newspaper=El País |date=7 November 1998 |url=https://elpais.com/diario/1998/11/07/sociedad/910393202_850215.html}}{{cite news|title= El Pais Chimera|newspaper=El País |date=6 May 2015 |url=https://elpais.com/elpais/2015/05/06/ciencia/1430928885_533576.html |last1=Sampedro |first1=Javier }}{{cite news|title= El Pais Organoids|newspaper=El País |date=17 November 2013 |url=https://elpais.com/sociedad/2013/11/17/actualidad/1384710652_664974.html |last1=Sampedro |first1=Javier }}{{cite web|title= Stat Human Pig Chimera|date=7 August 2017 |url=https://www.statnews.com/2017/08/07/pig-human-chimera-izpisua-belmonte}}
Seminal discoveries towards understanding the molecular basis underlying somatic cell reprogramming
New methodologies for the differentiation of human stem cells into various cells types and organoids, like the kidney and heart.{{cite web|title= Salk Institute Profile|url= https://www.salk.edu/scientist/juan-carlos-izpisua-belmonte}}{{cite journal|title= Nature Fanconi Anemia|journal=Nature |date=July 2009 |volume=460 |issue=7251 |pages=9 |doi=10.1038/7251009a |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/7251009a}}{{cite journal|title= Nature Medicine Wound Healing|journal=Nature Medicine |date=September 2018 |volume=24 |issue=9 |pages=1311–1312 |doi=10.1038/s41591-018-0179-3 |url=https://www.nature.com/articles/s41591-018-0179-3 |last1=Naik |first1=Shruti |pmid=30194410 }}
Development of novel stem cell models of human aging and aging-associated diseases, and discovery of new drivers of rejuvenation.{{cite web|title= SDUT Profile|date=5 August 2017 |url=http://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/biotech/sd-me-belmonte-profile-20170805-story.html}}{{cite magazine|title= New Yorker Aging|magazine=The New Yorker |url=https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2017/04/03/silicon-valleys-quest-to-live-forever}}
Novel genetic and epigenetic technologies to both treat, and prevent the transmission, of mitochondrial and nuclear DNA originated diseases.{{cite news|title= WP Gene Therapy| newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/national/health-science/scientists-can-tweak-dna-but-should-they/2015/08/03/23589654-0481-11e5-8bda-c7b4e9a8f7ac_story.html?noredirect=on}}{{cite web|title= LAT Gene Editing|website=Los Angeles Times |date=2 August 2017 |url=http://www.latimes.com/science/sciencenow/la-sci-sn-gene-editing-embryo-20170802-story.html#}}{{cite news|title= WP Gene Editing| newspaper=The Washington Post |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2017/08/02/first-human-embryo-editing-experiment-in-u-s-corrects-gene-for-heart-condition/?noredirect=on}}
Proof of concept that iPSC technology can be used for the generation of disease corrected patient specific cells with potential value for cell therapy.{{Cite web|title=Correcting Fanconi anaemia - healthy cells derived from diseased ones offer treatment hope|url=https://nyscf.org/resources/correcting-fanconi-anaemia-healthy-cells-derived-from-diseased-ones-offer-treatment-hope/|access-date=2021-09-13|website=New York Stem Cell Foundation|language=en-US}}
The development of methodologies for culturing embryos, including non-human primates, and creating synthetic mammalian embryos.{{Cite web|date=2019-10-18|title=Artificial embryos draw closer with Salk Institute work in mice|url=https://www.sandiegouniontribune.com/business/biotech/story/2019-10-18/artificial-embryos-salk-institute|access-date=2021-09-13|website=San Diego Union-Tribune|language=en-US}}{{Cite journal|last=Cyranoski|first=David|date=2019-10-31|title=Primate embryos grown in the lab for longer than ever before|journal=Nature|language=en|volume=575|issue=7781|pages=17–18|doi=10.1038/d41586-019-03326-5|pmid=31690853 |doi-access=|bibcode=2019Natur.575...17C |s2cid=207896205 }}
Development of technologies that allow differentiation of human cells inside embryos of different species. These results may allow for the generation of human tissues and organs.{{Cite magazine|title=Human Muscle Cells are Growing Inside of a Pig|url=https://time.com/4650323/stem-cells-organ-pig/|access-date=2021-09-13|magazine=Time|language=en}}{{Cite news|last=Wade|first=Nicholas|date=2017-01-26|title=New Prospects for Growing Human Replacement Organs in Animals|language=en-US|work=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2017/01/26/science/chimera-stemcells-organs.html|access-date=2021-09-13|issn=0362-4331}}{{Cite news|date=2021-04-15|title=Researchers have created embryos that are part-human and part-monkey|newspaper=The Economist|url=https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2021/04/15/researchers-have-created-embryos-that-are-part-human-and-part-monkey|access-date=2021-09-13|issn=0013-0613}}{{Cite news|last=Hotz|first=Robert Lee|date=2021-04-26|title=Creation of First Human-Monkey Embryos Sparks Concern|language=en-US|work=Wall Street Journal|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/creation-of-first-human-monkey-embryos-sparks-concern-11619442382|access-date=2021-09-13|issn=0099-9660}}

Recognition

A secondary school, Instituto Enseñanza Secundaria (IES) Izpisua Belmonte, was named after Izpisua Belmonte in his hometown of Hellín, Albacete, Spain.{{cite web|title=IESIB|url=http://www.iesizpisuabelmonte.es/}} In October, 2018, he was named by Time Magazine as one of the 50 Most Influential People in Healthcare of 2018.{{cite web|title= 2018 Time Health Care 50|url= https://time.com/collection/health-care-50/5425094/juan-carlos-izpisua-belmonte/}} Twice his work was among those selected by Science as the "Breakthrough of the Year," in 2008 for reprogramming and again in 2013 for the generation of mini-organs.{{Cite journal|last=Vogel|first=Gretchen|date=2008-12-19|title=Reprogramming Cells|url=https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.322.5909.1766|journal=Science|volume=322 |issue=5909 |pages=1766–1767 |doi=10.1126/science.322.5909.1766 |pmid=19095902 |s2cid=10410812 |language=EN}}{{Cite journal|date=2013-12-20|title=Human Cloning at Last|url=https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.342.6165.1436-a|journal=Science|volume=342 |issue=6165 |pages=1436–1437 |doi=10.1126/science.342.6165.1436-a |pmid=24357287 |language=EN}}