Photo of Helen M. Blau

Helen M. Blau

  • National Medal of Science
  • Biological Sciences

For her pioneering research in cellular biology and regenerative medicine. Helen Blau’s discovery that cells can be reprogrammed and rejuvenated overturned prevailing views on the fate of mammalian cells, provided new strategies for treating cells damaged from illnesses and disorders, and redefined how we think of aging.

Helen M. Blau is the Donald E. and Delia B. Baxter Professor and Director of the Baxter Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology at Stanford University. Dr. Blau is world renowned for establishing the reversibility of the mammalian differentiated state — overturning the prevailing view that the differentiated state is fixed and irreversible and opening the door to the application of cellular reprograming to stem cell biology. Her group established parameters for the isolation and characterization of muscle stem cells that reside in a quiescent state in skeletal muscles, poised to spring into action and regenerate the tissue upon damage. She demonstrated the profound impact of the of the niche and tissue elasticity on stem cell function. Blau discovered a new class of aging-associated enzyme, the prostaglandin degrading enzyme, 15-PGDH, a pivotal molecular determinant of aging she termed a “gerozyme”. Inhibition of the gerozyme using a small molecule drug significantly rejuvenates aged muscles leading to increased muscle mass and force. This drug has therapeutic potential in boosting strength in patients with muscle wasting due disuse, disease, or aging.

Blau is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences, National Academy of Medicine, American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the Royal Society, and the Pontifical Academy of Sciences. She is a co-inventor on 16 issued patents and co- founder of two biotechnology companies.

Blau has served in numerous leadership roles including President of the International Society for Differentiation and President of the Society for Developmental Biology, as a member of the Harvard Board of Overseers, the SAB of the Ellison Medical Foundation, and member of the Board of Directors of the International Society for Stem Cell Research. She enjoys communicating science to the layman and just published a book for children: “Stem Cells to the Rescue”.

Arati Prabhakar, Ph.D., Director of the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP), awards Helen M. Blau the National Medal of Science during an awards ceremony at the Eisenhower Executive Office Building in Washington, DC, January 3, 2025. Photo by Ryan K. Morris