Speaker bio page for Jan Spaas

Bio

Jan H. Spaas was born in Bilzen (Belgium) on January the 6^th 1986 and as a teenager he was a passionate horseback rider. This was translated in winning a 2-fold bronze medal at European Championships and 3-fold bronze medal at Belgian Championships for juniors and young riders (show jumping). He graduated as a veterinarian in 2010 at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine of Ghent University (Belgium) and his thesis was awarded the prize for young authors of the Flemish Veterinary Journal. Driven by a passion for regenerative medicine, he obtained a PHD scholarship from Flanders Innovation and Entrepreneurship (VLAIO). Early 2012 he completed his PhD research at the Department of Comparative Physiology and Biometrics of the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University (Belgium).

In 2012 he cofounded Global Stem cell Technology (GST) to develop regenerative therapies for the treatment of musculoskeletal diseases in horses and dogs and is still the Managing Director today. He established an Ethics Committee and large experimental animal unit with federal government recognition (LA1700607) and GCP/GLP accreditation. Moreover, he created a stem cell production unit that was granted a manufacturing authorization (1868V) and Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) license (BE/GMP/2015). He also developed the first veterinary stem cell product that has been recommended for marketing authorization in Europe*

Jan Spaas is the inventor of 8 patents and key author of more than 25 peer-reviewed scientific publications. He is the industrial promotor of 3 PhD students and a member of the International Society for Cellular Therapy (ISCT), European Society of Gene and Cell Therapy (ESGCT) and International Veterinary Regenerative Medicine Society (IVRMS). He was appointed Associate Editor of Frontiers in Veterinary Science for the Veterinary Regenerative Medicine specialty and is board member of the scientific society for equine health (WVGP) and VIA NOVA equine hospital. In 2018 he won the prize of entrepreneur of the year from the Union of Self-Employed Entrepreneurs (UNIZO).