Years and Years… of Dopaminergic neurons

Well hello there, did you miss me. No, I didn’t get stuck on a roundabout for days, preventing me from writing my next blog. I was simply enjoying the Montreal sunshine and those umbrella-containing beverages. Whoever came up with the idea of an umbrella in a drink is a genius. The umbrella shades the drink, keeping Read More …

The never-ending roundabout of iPSC quality control

As an Irishman, I am well versed in roundabouts, we love them. Entering the roundabout, going around it and then hoping to get off it when its your exit. If you don’t exit, you just keep going round and around and around, well you get the drift. It reminds me of that great scene in Read More …

Phew, its hot today. Let’s chill out and freeze down some iPSCs

In the immortal words of Ron Burgundy “Its so hot… milk was a bad choice”. Man, it is a scorcher today, with a humidex of really humid, now I know how cells feel like living in an incubator. But when its hot, what better way to cool down then with an ice cold beverage (I Read More …

Thawing your tube of iPSCs

Good morning and how is everyone doing, enjoying that first cup of tea or coffee of the morning I hope. Myself, I am a tea person, always have been, my Irish nature, we drink it by the liter. Can’t beat a good of tea in the morning to revive oneself. And if it’s the afternoon Read More …

I want to work with iPSCs, what do I need to get started

Good morning and happy Monday, no, not feeling it. Yes, I agree, I hate Mondays too. I never fully understood why the day existed except to be worse then Tuesday, and don’t even get me started on Wednesdays. Anyway, I digress, I trust everyone had a lovely weekend, here in Montreal the sun was shining, Read More …

The summer notebook of a principal investigator

Hello there, Is anyone out there, can you hear me, are you still there. Oh, good you are there, hello. I have to start with a Mea Culpa, for all those wondering where Tom was, its been 3 months why isn’t he writing a new post, has he forgotten about us, well no I didn’t and I Read More …

Cell types we work with

Hello again, Three weeks have now passed since my first blog, and the response has been overwhelming, who knew this kid with a love of dinosaurs could become an internet blogger. Your encouragement to make my t-Rex has motivated me to do just that, so let’s see how it all goes. Also fun fact, the Read More …

Modelling diseases of the brain through stem cells

Hello SGC members and to the millions of scientific readers across the globe, My name is Thomas Durcan, and I am an assistant professor at the Montreal Neurological Institute (MNI) and McGill University, where I also lead the SGC tissue platform in Montreal. You can call me the stem cell guy, as everything I and my Read More …