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Talk:Thomas A. Rando

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Latest comment: 1 month ago by Anivahradyan in topic References


UPE

[edit]
Latest comment: 6 years ago1 comment1 person in discussion

This article was clearly created by a paid editor. A little Googling of the article creator's account username connects the dots very clearly.ThatMontrealIP (talk) 06:09, 28 July 2020 (UTC)Reply


Proposed sourced revision

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I am an employee of the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center and have disclosed my paid relationship with the subject at the top of this Talk page and on my user page. I am proposing the following sourced revision for independent review. The proposed text updates and expands the biographical, career, research, leadership, and honors information and supplies citations for the statements included. I welcome independent review and implementation as appropriate.

Proposed article text

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Thomas A. Rando is an American stem cell biologist and neurologist best known for his research on basic mechanisms of stem cell biology, skeletal muscle regeneration, and the biology of aging.[1][2] He is the Director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at the University of California, Los Angeles, where he is also a professor of Neurology and Molecular, Cell and Developmental Biology.[2]

Rando’s research has shown how muscle stem cells move between dormant and active states, how signals circulating through the body influence tissue aging, and how age-related changes in cells may be partially reversible.[1][3]

He was elected to the National Academy of Medicine in 2016, the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2020, and the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering in 2024. In 2023, he received the International Society for Stem Cell Research Lifetime Achievement Award.[4][5][6][1]

Early life and education

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Rando was born in Brooklyn, New York, and grew up in Maine. He earned a bachelor's degree from Harvard College in biochemistry in 1979, and an M.D. from Harvard Medical School and a Ph.D. in cell and developmental biology from Harvard University in 1987.[7][8] He completed an internship at Massachusetts General Hospital, a residency in neurology at the University of California, San Francisco, and postdoctoral training in molecular pharmacology at Stanford University.[7][8]

Academic and Clinical Career

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He joined the Stanford University School of Medicine faculty in 1995. During his tenure at Stanford and the VA Palo Alto Health Care System, he served in a number of research, clinical, and administrative roles, including chief of neurology at the Palo Alto VA Medical Center, founding director of Stanford’s Muscular Dystrophy Association Clinic, director of the VA’s Geriatric Research, Education and Clinical Center, director of the VA Rehabilitation Research and Development Center of Excellence, founding director of the Glenn Center for the Biology of Aging, and co-founder and deputy director of the Stanford Center on Longevity.[7][9]

In 2021, Rando was appointed director of the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center. His appointment began on October 1 of that year, and Stanford subsequently named him professor emeritus of neurology and neurological sciences.[7][8]

Rando has held leadership roles in national and international scientific organizations. He joined the board of directors of the American Federation for Aging Research in 2017 and became its president in January 2024. In 2024, he was elected to a three-year term on the board of directors of the International Society for Stem Cell Research.[10][11]

He has also served on scientific advisory boards including the Hevolution Foundation, the Buck Institute for Research on Aging, Fondazione Telethon, the Max Planck Institute for Biology of Aging, Mount Desert Island Biological Laboratory, and XPRIZE Healthspan, among others.[12][13][14][15][16][17]

Research

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Rando's research on stem cells has addressed how stem cells in tissues throughout the body maintain their potency to participate in tissue homeostasis and tissue repair throughout the life of an organism. Using skeletal muscle stem cells as a primary model, his research has examined stem cell quiescence, systemic influences on aging, cellular rejuvenation, and strategies to preserve regenerative function. [2][3][18]

Muscle stem cell quiescence and regeneration

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Quiescence is a reversible, nondividing state that allows adult stem cells to persist for long periods while retaining the ability to respond to tissue damage.[18] In a 2012 mouse study, Rando’s lab found that Notch signaling was required to maintain the quiescent muscle stem cell population and that disruption of the pathway depleted those cells and impaired muscle regeneration.[19] A separate study published that year from the his group identified microRNA-489 as a regulator that helps maintain muscle stem cell quiescence.[20]

In 2014, Rando’s group described GAlert, a reversible state of shallow quiescence of muscle stem cells that enhances the ability of those cells to fully activate and engage in tissue repair. In mice, injury-induced systemic signals moved muscle stem cells and several other populations of quiescent stem cells into this more responsive state through the mTORC1 pathway, priming them to activate more rapidly after a subsequent injury.[21]

Later work examined how different depths of quiescence affect the balance between stem cell survival and regenerative activity. A 2022 study found that fasting or ketone-body signaling moved mouse muscle stem cells into a deeper and more resilient quiescent state but slowed muscle repair.[22] In 2026, Rando’s group reported that aged mouse muscle stem cells showed increased expression of NDRG1, which suppressed mTOR signaling and favored long-term cell survival at the expense of rapid activation and tissue regeneration. This led to their proposal of a “survivorship bias” in the analysis of aged stem cells, and perhaps aged cells in general. A companion perspective in Science highlighted the finding as a trade-off between stem cell persistence and function during aging.[23][24]

Systemic regulation of aging

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In a 2005 Nature study, the Rando lab used heterochronic parabiosis, an experimental technique in which a young and an old mouse are joined so that they share a circulatory system, to investigate how circulating factors influence tissue aging.[25] Exposure to a young systemic environment restored aspects of Notch signaling, proliferation and regenerative activity in aged muscle stem cells and increased the proliferation of progenitor cells in the aged liver.[25]

The study provided evidence that age-related declines in tissue regeneration are influenced not only by changes within stem cells but also by signals in their surrounding environment. It became part of a broader body of research examining how circulating factors and local tissue environments influence stem cell aging and regenerative function.[25][26]

Epigenetic aging and cellular rejuvenation

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Rando has also studied whether some age-associated cellular changes can be reversed. In a 2012 co-authored review, the authors proposed that epigenetic changes — modifications that alter gene activity without changing the underlying DNA sequence — could help explain both cellular aging and the apparent rejuvenation of aged cells in a younger environment.[27]

A 2020 study co-authored by Rando found that transient expression of reprogramming factors in aged human cells reset an epigenetic clock measurement, reduced inflammatory characteristics in cartilage cells, and restored a more youthful regenerative response in aged human muscle stem cells without erasing their cellular identity. The experiments were conducted in cultured cells and in a mouse injury model and did not constitute a treatment tested in people.[28]

Also in 2020, the Rando lab reported that voluntary exercise accelerated muscle repair in old mice and improved the activation of aged muscle stem cells through restoration of cyclin D1.[29]

Muscular dystrophy, bioengineering and regenerative rehabilitation

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Rando’s work has also addressed muscular dystrophy and the development of tools to study or enhance muscle stem cell function.[2] In 2013, his group described a mouse model that used a bioluminescent reporter in muscle stem cells to monitor muscular dystrophy activity and progression noninvasively, with potential applications in evaluating therapeutic interventions.[30]

In 2016, Rando’s lab developed an engineered stem cell niche that preserved mouse muscle stem cells in a potent, quiescent state during culture. The system also extended quiescence in cultured human muscle stem cells and improved their engraftment after transplantation into mice.[31] Building upon this work, Rando’s lab developed bioinstructive scaffolds to support regeneration of muscle from transplanted muscle stem cells in models of volumetric muscle loss.[32][33]

In a 2018 co-authored perspective, the authors described “regenerative rehabilitation” as an approach that integrates regenerative medicine and stem cell-based therapies with the mechanical and biophysical principles of rehabilitation science.[34]

Honors

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  • Member, American Neurological Association (2000)[7]
  • National Institutes of Health Director’s Pioneer Award (2005)[35]
  • American Federation for Aging Research Breakthroughs in Gerontology (BIG) Award (2008)[36]
  • National Institutes of Health Director’s Transformative Research Award (2013)[37]
  • Fellow, American Association for the Advancement of Science (2015)[38]
  • Member, National Academy of Medicine (2016)[4]
  • Member, American Academy of Arts and Sciences (2020)[5]
  • NOMIS Distinguished Scientist and Scholar Award (2022)[39]
  • International Society for Stem Cell Research Achievement Award, 2023.[1]
  • Fellow, American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering, 2024.[6]

References

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Latest comment: 1 month ago1 comment1 person in discussion
  1. 1 2 3 4 "Thomas A. Rando Receives the 2023 ISSCR Achievement Award". International Society for Stem Cell Research. February 9, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  2. 1 2 3 4 "Thomas A. Rando, M.D., Ph.D." Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, UCLA. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  3. 1 2 Brunet, Anne; Goodell, Margaret A.; Rando, Thomas A. (2023). "Ageing and Rejuvenation of Tissue Stem Cells and Their Niches". Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology. 24: 45–62. doi:10.1038/s41580-022-00510-w.
  4. 1 2 "Thomas A. Rando". National Academy of Medicine. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  5. 1 2 "Thomas A. Rando". American Academy of Arts and Sciences. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  6. 1 2 "Thomas Rando Inducted into the 2024 Class of the AIMBE College of Fellows". American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering. March 27, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Thomas Rando, MD, PhD's Profile". Stanford Profiles. Stanford University. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  8. 1 2 3 "Appointment of Thomas Rando as Director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCLA". Office of the Chancellor. University of California, Los Angeles. July 7, 2021. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  9. ↑ "Thomas Rando, MD, PhD". Rando Research Lab, UCLA. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  10. ↑ "Thomas A. Rando". American Federation for Aging Research. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  11. ↑ "The ISSCR Announces 2024 Election Results". International Society for Stem Cell Research. March 27, 2024. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  12. ↑ "Hevolution Foundation Announces Formation of Scientific Advisory Panel of Renowned Experts in Healthspan Science and Geroscience". Hevolution Foundation. March 27, 2023. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  13. ↑ "Our Governance". Fondazione Telethon. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  14. ↑ "Our Leadership". MDI Biological Laboratory. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  15. ↑ "XPRIZE Healthspan". XPRIZE Foundation. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  16. ↑ "Boards". Max Planck Institute for Biology of Ageing. Retrieved August 11, 2026.
  17. ↑ "Leadership". Buck Institute for Research on Aging. Retrieved August 11, 2026.
  18. 1 2 de Morree, Antoine; Rando, Thomas A. (2023). "Regulation of Adult Stem Cell Quiescence and Its Functions in the Maintenance of Tissue Integrity". Nature Reviews Molecular Cell Biology. 24: 334–354. doi:10.1038/s41580-022-00568-6.
  19. ↑ Bjornson, Carl R. R.; et al. (2012). "Notch Signaling Is Necessary to Maintain Quiescence in Adult Muscle Stem Cells". Stem Cells. 30 (2): 232–242. doi:10.1002/stem.773.
  20. ↑ Cheung, Thomas H.; et al. (2012). "Maintenance of Muscle Stem-Cell Quiescence by microRNA-489". Nature. 482: 524–528. doi:10.1038/nature10834.
  21. ↑ Rodgers, Joseph T.; et al. (2014). "mTORC1 Controls the Adaptive Transition of Quiescent Stem Cells from G0 to GAlert". Nature. 510: 393–396. doi:10.1038/nature13255.
  22. ↑ Benjamin, David I.; et al. (2022). "Fasting Induces a Highly Resilient Deep Quiescent State in Muscle Stem Cells via Ketone Body Signaling". Cell Metabolism. 34 (6): 902–918.e6. doi:10.1016/j.cmet.2022.04.012.
  23. ↑ Kang, Jengmin; et al. (2026). "Cellular Survivorship Bias as a Mechanistic Driver of Muscle Stem Cell Aging". Science. 391 (6784): 517–521. doi:10.1126/science.ads9175.
  24. ↑ von Maltzahn, Julia (2026). "Muscle Stem Cells Trade Functionality for Survival". Science. 391 (6784): 444. doi:10.1126/science.aed3298.
  25. 1 2 3 Conboy, Irina M.; et al. (2005). "Rejuvenation of Aged Progenitor Cells by Exposure to a Young Systemic Environment". Nature. 433: 760–764. doi:10.1038/nature03260.
  26. ↑ Lagunas-Rangel, Francisco Alejandro (2024). "Aging Insights from Heterochronic Parabiosis Models". npj Aging. 10 38. doi:10.1038/s41514-024-00166-0.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  27. ↑ Rando, Thomas A.; Chang, Howard Y. (2012). "Aging, Rejuvenation, and Epigenetic Reprogramming: Resetting the Aging Clock". Cell. 148 (1–2): 46–57. doi:10.1016/j.cell.2012.01.003.
  28. ↑ Sarkar, Tapash Jay; et al. (2020). "Transient Non-Integrative Expression of Nuclear Reprogramming Factors Promotes Multifaceted Amelioration of Aging in Human Cells". Nature Communications. 11 1545. doi:10.1038/s41467-020-15174-3.{{cite journal}}: CS1 maint: unflagged free DOI (link)
  29. ↑ Brett, Jeffrey O.; et al. (2020). "Exercise Rejuvenates Quiescent Skeletal Muscle Stem Cells in Old Mice through Restoration of Cyclin D1". Nature Metabolism. 2: 307–317. doi:10.1038/s42255-020-0190-0.
  30. ↑ Maguire, Kelli K.; et al. (2013). "Assessment of Disease Activity in Muscular Dystrophies by Noninvasive Imaging". Journal of Clinical Investigation. 123 (5): 2298–2305. doi:10.1172/JCI68458.
  31. ↑ Quarta, Marco; et al. (2016). "An Artificial Niche Preserves the Quiescence of Muscle Stem Cells and Enhances Their Therapeutic Efficacy". Nature Biotechnology. 34: 752–759. doi:10.1038/nbt.3576.
  32. ↑ Eugenis, Ioannis; et al. (2022). "Scalable Macroporous Hydrogels Enhance Stem Cell Treatment of Volumetric Muscle Loss". Biomaterials. 290 121818. doi:10.1016/j.biomaterials.2022.121818. PMC 10267099.
  33. ↑ Wu, Di; et al. (2025). "Bioinstructive Scaffolds Enhance Stem Cell Engraftment for Functional Tissue Regeneration". Nature Materials. 24: 1364–1374. doi:10.1038/s41563-025-02212-y. PMC 12777987.
  34. ↑ Rando, Thomas A.; Ambrosio, Fabrisia (2018). "Regenerative Rehabilitation: Applied Biophysics Meets Stem Cell Therapeutics". Cell Stem Cell. 22 (3): 306–309. doi:10.1016/j.stem.2018.02.003.
  35. ↑ "NIH Director's Pioneer Award Program: Funded Research". National Institutes of Health Common Fund. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  36. ↑ "2008 Grant Recipients". American Federation for Aging Research. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  37. ↑ "NIH Director's Transformative Research Award: Funded Research". National Institutes of Health Common Fund. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  38. ↑ "Nine Professors Elected Fellows of AAAS". Stanford Medicine. November 23, 2015. Retrieved August 6, 2026.
  39. ↑ "NOMIS Awardee Thomas A. Rando". NOMIS Foundation. Retrieved August 6, 2026.

Anivahradyan (talk) 19:12, 11 August 2026 (UTC)Reply

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