Utopian lab: Stem cell hotel
Since the discovery of stem cells several decades ago, advanced procedures have been developed to culture cells in vitro. What was a Utopian dream is now a part of life and stem cell technology is constantly offering improved new tools to maintain and reprogramme stem cells.
These new insights are valuable tools to study diseases, discover drugs and develop cell therapies. Cross-media installation Stem cell hotel is an appreciation for this fascinating – if sometimes controversial – field and its applications. Launching a discussion on current and future stem cell technologies, Stem cell hotel took a look at how university researchers might work together with hospitals, industry and the public to move towards a science centred around the needs of patients.
Project team
Dr Ines Sequeira is a Research Associate with the King’s Centre for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine.
Chloe Hurling is a PhD student within the King’s Centre for Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine.
Dr Davide Danovi, MD PhD, Director, HipSci Cell Phenotyping, Centre for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine, King’s College London.
Filmed and Edited: Poe Panayiotou
Architect: Felicity Hurling
Exhibition Design: Flavia D’Amico
Associate Producers: Caroline Dapré and Natalia Palasz
Utopian lab
This project was part of the Utopian lab, a contemporary glimpse of the Health Faculties at King’s College London. The crusade to understand, save and compliment the human body and mind was the spirit of Utopia itself, uniting cultures, defining humanity and standing on the shoulders of giants.
Rotating through the different stories of present day work day work being carried out across the Health Faculties at King’s College London, Utopian lab was a snapshot of the future with roots firmly planted in King’s College Hospital’s past: a workhouse on the Strand that was propelled to notoriety by the surgery work of Joseph Lister in the late 19th century.
‘I think one’s feelings waste themselves in words, they ought all to be distilled into actions and into actions which bring results’ – Florence Nightingale