Alumnus, Stem Cell Researcher Gives TED Talk

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Scott Noggle

FAYETTEVILLE, Ark. – University of Arkansas alumnus Scott Noggle gave a lecture at a TED conference in February describing his groundbreaking research with the New York Stem Cell Foundation.

During his talk, Noggle described how he and his team have developed an advanced technique to generate stem cells from the brain tissue of deceased Alzheimer’s patients. By “reanimating” these cells, they were able to observe the actual neurons affected by Alzheimer’s disease and compare the cells to their healthy counterparts. The objective is to determine how the disease starts and develops, with an ultimate goal of creating more effective treatments for a disease that affects about one-third of the U.S. population over the age of 80—a “catastrophe,” according to Noggle.

The New York Stem Cell Foundation is a non-profit organization that seeks to accelerate cures for the major diseases of our time through stem cell research. Noggle has been the principal investigator of the institution’s scientific team since 2009. He serves as the Charles Evans senior research fellow for Alzheimer’s disease. In addition to his work for the foundation, he is also an adjunct associate research scientist in pediatrics and molecular genetics at Columbia University.

"Scott was an outstanding student," said Jeannine Durdik, director of Noggle's graduate studies and associate dean of the J. William Fulbright College of Arts and Sciences. "Having students who are genuinely curious about the world are a joy to mentor, and Scott embodied that thirst for knowledge. It's an honor to watch his successful career and the scientific advances produced by his research."

Before joining the New York Stem Cell Foundation, he managed the Tri-Institutional Stem Cell Initiative's Derivation Core facility and served as a postdoctoral fellow at The Rockefeller University. His studies involved the signaling pathways that maintain pluripotency and control neural induction in human embryonic stem cells.  

In 2011, Noggle was named one of Crain’s New York Business “40 Under Forty.” The list honors New Yorkers who are making major innovations in their respective fields.

Noggle’s academic career began in Fulbright College. He received a bachelor of science in zoology in 1995 and a master of science in biology in 1998. He earned a doctorate from the Medical College of Georgia in 2004.

TED is a nonprofit devoted to “Ideas Worth Spreading.” The organization brings together the world's most fascinating thinkers and doers and challenges them to give the talk of their lives in 18 minutes or less during the two annual TED conferences. These lectures are broadcast through the award-winning TED Talks video website and a variety of other platforms.

TED University, the conference that included Noggle’s presentation, is held prior to the main conference and composed exclusively of presentations selected from submissions by regular conference attendees. TED U lectures range from two to nine minutes.