EP109: The Future of Regenerative Medicine with Dr. Drew Taylor and Sachin Patel
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Sachin Patel and Dr. Drew Taylor discuss Drew\\u2019s early foray into medicine when he shadowed an orthopedic surgeon doing total knee arthroplasty, Drew\\u2019s interest in following his father into baseball and medicine, and how Drew earned his Ph.D. in Biomedical Engineering. With that background, Drew started Acorn Biolabs, a laboratory that helps you cryogenically store young stem cells from your hair follicles against a future time when medical advances will allow you to use the stem cells to create new skin, tissues, and organs to prolong your life.
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Key Takeaways:
[1:03] Sachin welcomes listeners to today\\u2019s episode! This is a special interview with Dr. Drew Taylor, a serial entrepreneur and professional athlete, who is helping extend people\\u2019s life spans using hair! Dr. Taylor plucks hair and freezes it cryogenically in a Toronto lab to preserve stem cells for future needs.
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[2:47] Dr. Taylor tells the story of his interest in biomedicine and longevity. He picked total-knee arthroplasty for his seventh-grade science fair project. He was permitted to scrub in and shadow a surgeon to observe a total knee replacement surgery. The next day, he accompanied the surgeon on rounds and watched the patient stand up out of bed and embrace the surgeon.
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[4:54] Drew talked to the surgeon about witnessing this emotional experience for the patient. The surgeon told him that the metal and plastic parts will eventually wear down and the patient will be back for revision surgery. The surgeon predicted that in the future this operation will be done with the patient\\u2019s cells to replace cartilage, bone, and tissues.
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[6:23] Years later, Drew worked at the same hospital on a biomedical skeletal tissues engineering team with the Division of Orthopedics, trying to engineer joints for patients on demand. It was his science fair experience that led him there.
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[8:42] Drew attended Baseball Spring Training after college but he was injured before the regular season, so he never played in the Major Leagues. He played for both the Blue Jays and the Phillies on their Minor League squads. Drew became a Ph.D. student in biomedical engineering at the University of Toronto while he played baseball.
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[11:22] Drew explains stem cells. The embryonic stem cell can form any cell. They are pluripotent. Other stem cells have started to develop but can still become one of several cells. They are multipotent. Technology takes time to develop to a level to benefit people.
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[16:36] Drew\\u2019s company Acorn Biolabs focuses on giving clients access to their cells. Taking donor cells always carries a risk of rejection or tumors. The patients receiving their cells is always the best choice.
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[18:19] Acorn Biolabs collects cells from clients while they are younger. Younger cells are better than older cells to leverage for the rest of your life. Sachin points out that nothing can fix your body better than it can fix itself.
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[22:04] Drew addresses how and when it is best to harvest cells. Acorn harvests hair follicles, which have thousands of stem cells. The quality of the hair follicle begins to decline as early as in the twenties. About 50 hair follicles are plucked per client and placed in a solution.
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[24:59] Drew explains the process for protecting the harvested cells for transport and freezing them to -190 degrees Celsius for when you need them in the future.
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[27:50] Acorn Biolabs has some amazing methodologies they use to develop different cells you may need or the frozen cells can be sent to the laboratory of your choice. Drew lists some of the products the cells can produce.
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[31:22] Drew shares an example of a use case in research and development: creating your pancreas islet beta cells to produce insulin for type 1 diabetics. This project will take years before human application. Other use cases are closer, such as producing collagen to deliver to the skin. Hair regrowth and wound closures are other potential use cases and sports injuries.
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[34:05] Drew\\u2019s brother is a type 1 diabetic. Drew made sure his follicles were banked as quickly as possible so he would have his youngest cells cryogenically preserved and available. Drew believes in his brother\\u2019s lifetime we will see these things made possible.
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[34:41] Drew addresses correcting problems with auto-immune diseases. Auto-immune problems are multi-layered and will take time to solve. Gene editing technologies like CRISPR can help eliminate some problems. Three-D printing of organs is on the horizon.
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[37:13] The biggest ethical considerations have been mitigated. The new technologies do not use embryonic stem cells. We can reprogram your cells. The importance is in intercepting your cells at their best.
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[39:11] It\\u2019s difficult to predict for any individual at what age cells are not viable. Acorn Biolabs does not put a cut-off age for individuals to harvest their cells. The younger, the better.
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[41:51] Drew says there\\u2019s a law of diminishing returns in working to maximize your health through lifestyle changes before harvesting your follicles. We are always getting older. Don\\u2019t wait too long. Sachin\\u2019s lifestyle health programs last 10 to 12 weeks, so you can do both.
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[44:46] Drew shares how people can get in touch with Acorn Biolabs for more information.
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[45:39] Sachin thanks Drew Taylor for this dialog, invites patients and practitioners to consider this process for themselves, and signs off until the next episode.
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Mentioned in this episode
Tissue Engineering Technologies
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More about today\\u2019s guest Dr. Drew Taylor
Acorn Biolabs: Acorn Biolabs
Dr. Drew Taylor on LinkedIn: Drew Taylor
Dr. Drew Taylor on Twitter: Drew Taylor
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More about your host Sachin Patel
How to speak with Sachin
Go one step further and Become The Living Proof
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Books by Sachin Patel:
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