PhD student recognized at Gordon Research Conference

Laura Sherwood, a PhD student in biomedical engineering and member of the Andreadis research group, earned a second place award for her research presentation at the 2025 Salivary Glands and Exocrine Biology Gordon Research Conference (GRC).

Sherwood presented a talk and poster on her research in “Engineering Functional Salivary Gland Organoids from Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells." The project focuses on generating salivary gland progenitor cells and organoids (mini organs) from induced pluripotent stem cells. These mini organs can be used for development of cell therapies and as a platform to screen drugs to restore salivary gland function in patients receiving radiation for head and neck cancer or suffering from autoimmune diseases such Sjögren's syndrome.

The Salivary Glands and Exocrine Biology GRC is an international conference focused on advancing the frontiers of science through the presentation of cutting-edge and unpublished research, prioritizing time for discussion after each talk and fostering informal interactions among scientists of all career stages. The conference took place in Ventura, Calif., on January 26-31.