'Cha Gwang-ryeol Stem Cell Award', Dr. Xavier Santa Maria Selected as 10th Recipient

Cha Hospital announced on the 17th that Dr. Xavier Santamaria, a medical scientist from the United States, has been selected as the 10th recipient of the ‘Cha Kwang-ryeol Stem Cell Award’ at the 79th American Society for Reproductive Medicine (ASRM) held at the Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, USA.

Kwang-ryeol Cha, Director of Cha Hospital and Bio Group Global Comprehensive Research Institute (left), and Dr. Xavier Santamaria, selected as the recipient of the 'Kwang-ryeol Cha Stem Cell Award'
[Photo by Cha Hospital]

The Cha Kwang-ryeol Stem Cell Award was established in 2011, named after Cha Kwang-ryeol, the director of Cha Hospital and Bio Group Global Research Institute, who achieved outstanding accomplishments in infertility, stem cells, and regenerative medicine, including developing the world’s first rapid egg freezing method and establishing the first egg bank. It is the only award established by ASRM named after an Asian individual and is given to researchers leading innovative research advancements using stem cells in the fields of infertility and reproductive medicine.

Dr. Xavier Santamaria, the awardee, is an obstetrics and gynecology specialist who majored in reproductive endocrinology at Yale University in the United States and obtained a graduate fellowship in infertility. He earned his Ph.D. at the Autonomous University of Barcelona in Spain. He later conducted research and clinical practice at IVI Fertility in Spain, known as one of the world’s top three infertility centers.

Dr. Santamaria received the Cha Kwang-ryeol Stem Cell Award for his research on the effects of CD133+ bone marrow-derived stem cells on maternal-fetal interactions in patients with Asherman’s syndrome. Asherman’s syndrome is a condition where uterine adhesions occur after curettage surgery and can be caused by curettage, abortion surgery, or intrauterine contraceptive devices. It refers to a state where the endometrial layer is damaged and the uterine cavity is adhered, which causes infertility.

Dr. Santamaria plans to conduct research clarifying the effects and mechanisms of CD133+ BMSCs by including 10 patients who successfully received cell therapy and gave birth.

The human bone marrow stem cells first developed by Dr. Santamaria for treating Asherman’s syndrome and endometrial atrophy were designated as the first orphan drug (ODD) by the European Medicines Agency (EMA) and the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Dr. Santamaria said, “I have respected Director Cha Kwang-ryeol of Cha Hospital Research Institute for his relentless passion in generating new ideas and conducting research. I consider this award an immense honor and will do my best to treat patients suffering from infertility through various studies including Asherman’s syndrome and to bring greater progress to the field of reproductive medicine.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.