The book: Promising stem cell treatments are being tested in thousands of clinical trials throughout the United States. These treatments use adult stem cells found in people’s own bodies to help eliminate cancer, for organ replacement, and to use the immune system to fight autoimmune diseases like multiple sclerosis, rheumatoid arthritis, and type 1 diabetes.

Cells are the New Cure: The Cutting-Edge Breakthroughs That are Transforming our Health (BenBella Books) explains in layman’s terms the exciting scientific developments in stem cell research that will soon be available to the public as a whole, allowing us to live longer and healthier lives, and which may even be able to slow or reverse the aging process itself.

Max Gomez ’73

Dr. Robin L. Smith is a global thought leader in regenerative medicine. While she was CEO of the NeoStem family of companies, she pioneered the company’s innovative business model, which combined contract development, manufacturing, and proprietary cell therapy development.

Opening lines: “Imagine a world where victims of irreversible spinal cord injuries are able to get out of their hospital beds and walk. Where there’s no shortage of donor organs for transplants — because we no longer need donors — we just grow new organs in laboratories. Where stem cells from bone marrow or fat are used to repair damaged hearts and spinal discs and lungs…In short, imagine a world of longer and healthier lives. This is the promise of cell therapies. What once seemed like science fiction, pipe dreams, or outright miracles is already becoming reality.”