Recently it was shown that human cells with the properties of embryonic stem cells can be derived from skin fibroblasts by reprogramming. These cells are termed "induced pluripotent stem cells" (iPS cells) and their creation is thought by many scientists to be a major advance in terms of ethics, medical therapy and basic science. Although iPS cells may be the starting point for future cell therapy, the major issues that face scientists now are the same as was previously raised for embryonic stem cells: how to cause them to differentiate into useful cell types (e.g. brain, heart, insulin-secreting and so on) and how to test whether these cells can be safely used in cell therapy. The labs of Suzette Tardif, PhD Professor of Cellular and Structural Biology and Peter Hornsby, PhD Professor of Physiology are collaborating on a project involving the production of iPS cells from the marmoset, a small nonhuman primate. We believe that the use of a nonhuman primate is ideal. The marmoset can be used as a source of cells and as an animal model, close to humans, for testing therapies for Parkinson's disease, heart disease, and type 1 diabetes. It can serve as a unique model for personalized cell therapy in that the same individual can be used for both cell donation and as the recipient of cell therapy, in the same way that human patients will be treated in the future. John McCarrey, PhD Professor of Biology at UTSA is also studying transgenesis and stem cell research in nonhuman primates.