I am excited to have taken on the role of ISSCR President for this year, building on Hideyuki Okano’s leadership and vision.

Many of you may think of ISSCR mainly as the place we gather for the annual and regional meetings. But it is an organization doing far more. In addition to Keith Alm and his staff, ISSCR has over 150 volunteers who contribute to setting the ethical and scientific standards that guide our field, educating physicians and patients, advocating for our science with policymakers, and nurturing the next generation of researchers.

Among the many ongoing initiatives of ISSCR, I see three areas that are particularly urgent for this coming year.

The ISSCR plays a central role, not only reflecting the momentum of the field but actively guiding it. Over the course of my presidential year, the Society has strengthened its scientific leadership, expanded its global reach, and deepened its commitment to responsible innovation. At the start of my term, I defined four themes: expanding scientific programming from the bottom up, bridging basic research and clinical translation, becoming a truly inclusive society, and strengthening communication across leadership and committees. This year reflects meaningful progress across each of these priorities.

Only a month ago, it felt as though spring had finally arrived in many parts of the Northern Hemisphere. Here in Tokyo, where I live, the season has already moved forward, and the fresh green leaves now fill the city with a sense of renewal. At ISSCR, we are also entering a season of anticipation. The program for ISSCR 2026 is now nearly complete, and it has developed into a truly exciting meeting. I very much look forward to seeing many of you in person this July in Montréal.

At the same time, ISSCR’s work extends well beyond the preparation of our Annual Meeting. As one important example, we have been actively engaged in responding to the recent NIH Request for Information concerning the future use of human embryonic stem cells, or hESCs, in NIH-supported research. I would like to take this opportunity to share the central message of our response.

Spring has once again arrived across much of the Northern Hemisphere, bringing with it a welcome sense of renewal. At moments like this, I am reminded that science has a special role to play. It is not merely a means of generating knowledge. It is also a shared human enterprise—one that can transcend borders, bring people together across differences, and create hope where uncertainty too often prevails. In an era increasingly marked by fragmentation, I believe it is more important than ever that we reaffirm the value of open scientific exchange, rigorous scholarship, and international solidarity.

Induced pluripotent stem cell (iPSC) technology has transformed biomedicine far beyond its original promise for regenerative medicine. By preserving a patient’s genetic background while enabling the generation of disease-relevant cell types—and increasingly sophisticated tissue architectures such as organoids and other advanced in vitro systems—we can now recreate key aspects of human pathology in the laboratory. These platforms are becoming a powerful engine not only for mechanistic disease research, but also for drug discovery and development.