Paola Arlotta Awarded 2025 ISSCR Momentum Honor

The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) is recognizing Paola Arlotta with this year’s Momentum Honor. Arlotta holds the position of Golub Family Professor within the Department of Stem Cell and Regenerative Biology in the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, as well as being a member of the Broad Institute. She will showcase her findings at the ISSCR 2025 Annual Meeting in Hong Kong scheduled for June 11-14, 2025.

“Dr. Arlotta’s innovative contributions have transformed our comprehension of brain development and neurological disorders,” stated Douglas Melton, research scholar at Vertex Pharmaceuticals and a former professor in the FAS, alongside Melissa Little from the Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine, University of Copenhagen, Denmark, and Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, Australia, who jointly spearheaded the nomination. “Through her trailblazing studies on stem cell-derived brain organoids, she has unraveled the intricacies of the developing human brain. Additionally, her investigations into brain formation have significantly altered the scientific realm, making her a worthy recipient of the 2025 ISSCR Momentum Honor due to her outstanding contributions and visionary perspective on human neurobiology.”

“It is a profound honor to accept this year’s Momentum Honor, which I attribute to the exceptional students and postdoctoral researchers I have had the pleasure of collaborating with throughout the years,” expressed Arlotta. “Their unyielding curiosity regarding the dynamics of the brain and their relentless commitment to advancing new therapies and enhancing human existence consistently motivate me. Their enthusiasm ignites my passion and fuels my creativity. I am also immensely grateful to my colleagues at ISSCR for their devotion to this field and for this esteemed recognition.”

Arlotta’s scholarly work concentrates on brain development and disorders; she employs embryos as well as sophisticated cellular models of the human brain, organoids, to achieve profound insights into both the principles that direct normal brain development and previously-unavailable mechanisms of human neurological disorders.  

Arlotta attained her M.S. in biochemistry from the University of Trieste, Italy, followed by her Ph.D. in molecular biology from the University of Portsmouth in the UK. She later pursued her postdoctoral training in neuroscience at Harvard Medical School. Throughout her career, she has garnered numerous accolades, including the Friedrich Wilhelm Bessel Award, the George Ledlie Prize, the Pradel Award, the Feltrinelli International Prize, and the Gutenberg Award. Her research has been extensively published and cited in various prestigious journals, such as Nature, Science, and Cell.  

The ISSCR Momentum Honor is financed by Bluerock Therapeutics.