“My Colleagues Sometime Call Me a Mad Professor,” says Kuldip Sidhu, Times NOW & ICICI Bank NRI of the Year winner in Academics across Asia-Pacific

Professor Kuldip Sidhu, the proud recipient of ‘Times NOW & ICICI Bank NRI of the Year Awards 2018’ in Academics across Asia-Pacific talks to Indus Age about his illustrious career, his notable work & immense contribution in the field of medicine and a lot more in an exclusive interview. Read on:

By Shashikanth  Narasimhiah

Doctor, during your illustrious career, you have achieved all anyone can think of in a life time. But we all know you would not stop. So, what are your future plans and aspirations and towards what change in human existence, survival and propagation would that be directed?

My career so far has been on continuum and am always humbled by any reward/recognition that came along on the way as the current one (NRI of 2018) from India, and my colleagues here sometime call me as a mad professor. Starting of my endeavour in India 1972 on assisted reproduction and gamete biology i.e. sperm, eggs and embryos to find out solution to the fertility issues that led to the first caveated ‘Indian National Science Academy Award’ in 1981 presented by the Prime Minister of India. The research from my lab then provided boost to the artificial insemination industry. That kept the fire burning in my belly and has never extinguished until now. Migrating in 1995 to Australia offered a number of challenges that gave me an impetus to work even harder and learn more to match up with local standards and never gave up on my determined continuum trail on working for human fertility and related health issues. Australia provided me with a very fertile environment to nurture my ambitions and got an opportunity to learn about stem cells again derived from human embryos with Prof James Thompson in Boston in year 2000 and I brought back that technology to Australia. I produced in collaboration, the Australian first clean human embryonic stem cells line called Endeavour-1 and then Endeavour-2. These cells are pluripotent meaning that they can produce all 230 different types of cells in our body and hence a huge therapeutic potential. My earlier focus has been on diabetes and during the last 1o years it has shifted toward neurodegenerative diseases. A number of recognitions came along and the latest being ‘Pioneer in Medicine’ in 2014 by the Society of Brain Mapping & Therapeutics based in California. It’s life in continuum and my work is not a job but a passion and lots of fun, an extensive networking and travels.

To answer the last part of your question, currently my emphasis of research is to translate the fundamental knowledge on stem cells for welfare of patients. Towards that end, I compiled all that information in the form of a book, ‘Frontiers in Pluripotent Stem Cells Research and Therapeutic Potentials – Bench-to-Bedside’ in 2014. I set up my own company called CK Cell technologies to achieve those targets. The key to success is to change, invigorate and collaborate.

Could you explain to us in lay man’s terms the application of stem cell research in treating Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis and such other degenerative diseases?

The traditional medicine has offered us an extended life span by more than 10 years so far but it has also added a burden of ailments primarily caused by regular intake of various medicines. It works on the principle of symptomatic way of treating ailments and that may not necessarily be a cure. However, stem cells on the other hand can offer cure instead of treatment by using body’s own reparative and defence system (stem cells) for various ailments. For example, in Alzheimer’s, Parkinson, Multiple Sclerosis including Diabetes, due to genetic (familial) or environment factors, our own defence system starts attaching the related organ’s cellular machineries by killing the relevant cell types. Stem cell technology can offer cure by replacing those affected cells in these organs.Also, a relatively new stem cells technology called iPSC (induced pluripotent stem cells) technology developed in 2006 by the Noble Laureate (2016), Prof Shinya Yamanaka with whom I have the special privilege to work for 7 years in an international consortium, that has taken the debate away from using human embryos as these iPSC can be obtained from skin by reprogramming them to ground state (Pluripotent). These cells are very similar to human embryonic stem cells derived from embryos and are also pluripotent. This is the current focus of my research. Just to give an example of the use of these iPSC, in Alzheimer’s there is generally a latency of 10-15 years before symptoms appear, it’s generally too late then like in cancer to treat such patients. Using iPSC technology at the University of New South Wales, my team developed an in vitro model to generate a mini brain in the Patri dish using patient-derived iPSC and recapitulated the onset of Alzheimer’s disease in those patients in the matter of few weeks as supposed to 10-15 years. Hence an opportunity to treat or cure these patients early on and quickly. This process (early diagnosis) is critical for disease modelling outside the human body particularly when we don’t have an excess to such tissue as brain for research from  living individuals.

Is it true that stem cell research is being applied for treating brain and heart ailments too? Could you please tell us more about these and what the future for heart and brain patients hold?

In addition to Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, Multiple Sclerosis mentioned earlier, stem cells are being actively researched to develop cure for a number of other central/peripheral nervous system-related diseases like cerebral palsy, strokes, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), motor neuron disease (MND) and also for the heart and eye patients. The research in some cases like heart has progressed to phase II and III clinical trials and hoping to have positive outcomes.  In all these cases patient’s own stem cells like mesenchymal stem cells (derived from fat, bone and dental tissues) and skin-derived iPSC are being used to generate and replace the relevant cells affected in these diseases. There is a huge potential but patient’s safety is paramount at the moment that is being addressed on priority. There is no legitimate stem cells-based cure so far other than in cancer patients. Therefore, public education is key to prevent stem cells-based tourism that is a real concern.

How near are we in terms of commercial availability of artificial human organs and to what extent would that remove the threat of people dying of various types of diseases, cancers and ailments?

If you look on government ‘clinical trial registry’, currently more than 5000 stem cells-based clinical trials are listed. Given the fact that it takes 5-10 years to develop new medicine, I am hopeful that within that period the stem cell-based therapy may emerge. Using innovative 3D printing, stem cells-based pancreas, kidney and mini brain are already on horizon and many more to come. It’s a very delicate and expensive technology, public money alone will not help, private enterprise may pave the way. There is a real need and a huge potential with stem cells and I call it as a ‘third pillar of human medicine’, the first being the traditional medicine and the second one employing the  current small molecules, peptides and vaccines etc.

Advancements in stem cell research may eventually lead to phenomenal increase in the rate of human mortality rate which means humans will have higher level of control in regard to life and death. What is your opinion on the consequences of increased population on our planet due to this?

Advancement in medicine in general has already created that scenario by increasing our life span by more than 10 years. Dementia has become menace, currently more than 46.8 million people worldwide, and 342, 800 Australians are suffering with it and we are spending over a trillion dollars to maintain such patients. If dementia was a country, it would be the 16^th largest economy of the world with budget equivalent to that of Google and Apple together. However, on the positive note, stem cells can offer respite as this technology can also provide a better vitality and consequently better, healthy and longer disease-free living.

What is your take on the controversy that the outcome of advanced stem cell research may be misused or applied for illegal transplants and/or abortions?

Not more so for illegal transplants/or abortion, but more so in fear of ‘human cloning’. Stem cells based-cloning has been successful in number of animals like Dolly the sheep, dog, monkey and likewise there is a fear that human cloning may be attempted. However, there is a strict worldwide ban on human cloning.  Theoretically it is possible but human machinery is much more complicated than animal and hence hard to clone at the moment. Having said that, human cloned embryos have been generated under approved legislation to produce the cloned human embryonic stem cells, so that these stem cells once used for transplantation purposes will not be rejected and that is a very progressive technology.

Could you tell us more about the possibility that advancements in stem cell research might eventually lead to commercial production of various vital human organs and would that reduce illegal trafficking of human organs?

Theoretically yes, however, we are far away from creating functional organs at the moment but bound to come in future with new developments including 3 D printing.

We have all heard about the ethical dimension in regard to Stem cell research which supposedly involves taking tissue from an aborted embryo to get proper material to study. Could you tell us more about this and how recent research and advancement helps to alleviate this ethical conundrum?

We have the legislation in place after an extended public debate for stem cells research and use of human foetuses after therapeutic termination of pregnancy that I was also involved with and hence there should not be any conundrum about it. The clinical use of human foetal’s brain tissue for Parkinson’s patients has been in practice for many years by now. If tissues derived from human foetuses obtained after therapeutic termination of pregnancy could be of any use to alleviate any human sufferings I support that, but I also respect others side of the arguments revolving around ethical concerns, but we should be evolving as an educated and progressive society and tolerant to new developments for better good of society. When human genome project was launched a couple of decades ago, we spent 4 billion dollars and a similar concern was raised. However, now in the current century, every dollar we spent then on this technology is giving us a dividend of more than 100 dollars and providing revolution in human medicine.

Do you believe that cloning of an entire human could become a reality and if so what social and medical checks and balances would you recommend?

As I said theoretically yes, it is possible but very complicated to achieve at the moment in humans. There is a consensus and a worldwide ban on human cloning.

Going forward would there be any level of collaboration between cloning of an entire human combined with Artificial Intelligence (AI) and what might this combination do the human race on this planet?

Very fancy and ambitious question to grapple with at this moment, let’s endeavour to gather support for stem cells-based alleviation of human sufferings first!