Dr. James Thomson's Lab

Department of Anatomy
Genome Center of Wisconsin
Madison, WI


Contact Information: James Thomson Professor, Department of Anatomy Genome Center of Wisconsin 425 Henry Mall Madison, WI 53705 Office Phone: 608/263-3585 Fax: 608/265-8984 email: This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

Celebrating 10 Years of hESC Cell Lines

Ten years ago this November, a paper was published that led to an explosion in the field of stem cell research. In November 1998, Dr. James Thomson’s laboratory reported the first derivation of
human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines from human blastocysts (Science 1998;282:1145–1147).

To celebrate this landmark discovery, and to look forward to the future of stem cell research, STEM CELLS has begun an interview series titled “Celebrating 10 Years of hESC Cell Lines”. Over the next several months, STEM CELLS will present interviews reflecting on the lives and achievements of some of the premiere scientists in the field of stem cells and regenerative medicine. The series begins with “An Interview with James Thomson”.

Read the Introductory Editorial to this series from Dr. Miodrag Stojkovic, Co-Editor of Stem Cells, in the November issue of STEM CELLS.

Read our interview with Dr. Thomson in the November issue of STEM CELLS.

Read additional excerpts from our interview with Dr. Thomson, available only on the Stem Cells Portal.

Join our Discussion Forum - "The Controversy over Stem Cells"

Lab Feature:

Dr. James Thomson - Scientific Positions:
John D. MacArthur Professor, University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health Adjunct Professor, Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, University of California, Santa Barbara

Director of Regenerative Biology, Morgridge Institute for Research, Madison, Wisconsin

Overview of the Thomson Lab
In the early 1990s, the Thomson laboratory derived ES cells from an Old World monkey (the rhesus macaque) and a New World monkey (the common marmoset), work that led to the derivation of the first human ES cells. Much of the initial work in the Thomson laboratory after that derivation focused on establishing human ES cells as an accepted, practical model system. They developed, for example, improved culture conditions, methods for genetic manipulation, and approaches for the in vitro differentiation to key lineages of clinical importance.

They are now focused on using these tools to understand the basic biology of pluripotency. For example, they use several conditions that induce uniform differentiation to specific lineages to study in detail how ES cells decide to exit the pluripotent state and become restricted in their potential, and they use a hematopoietic model system to study how that process of restriction can be reversed.

Thomson Lab Homepage

Overview of Dr. Thomson

The University of Wisconsin – Madison

The University of Wisconsin Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center

The Genome Center of Wisconsin

Thomson Lab Protocols

Thomson Lab Members

Job Opportunities in the Thomson Lab

Thomson Publications

University of California Santa Barbara,
Department of Molecular, Cellular and Developmental Biology