Spurring Innovation: Nurturing Career Pathways for the Next Generation of Regenerative Medicine Scientists

A Note from the Crest Editorial Team

This story originally appeared in the 2024 edition of the Crest magazine. Since its publication, Dr. Sarah Lepage has been appointed to a full-time teaching-focused position at the Ontario Veterinary College (OVC). She is now a Tenure-track Assistant Professor in Regenerative Medicine in the Department of Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Lepage will spearhead innovative curriculum improvements at the undergraduate and graduate levels, as well as contribute to building regenerative medicine research and training initiatives across the University of Guelph. The OVC community extends their congratulations to Dr. Lepage!

Dr. Sarah Lepage is passionate about the future of regenerative medicine.

As a training program manager at OmniaBio, a prominent Canadian cell and gene therapy (CGT) manufacturer, Lepage develops training programs for industry scientists and manufacturers. She’s also an adjunct professor in the Department of Biomedical Sciences at OVC, where she teaches a graduate course in regenerative medicine. Straddling two roles has enabled Lepage to champion experiential learning collaborations with industry partners to ensure OVC students are career-ready after graduation.

“The field of regenerative medicine has exploded over the last five years,” says Lepage. “So many companies, large and small, are dedicating resources to manufacturing CGTs to treat diseases like cancers, cardiovascular diseases and neurological disorders.”

Lepage is now an industry insider who recognizes the diverse opportunities for new graduates in the field in regenerative medicine. Still, when she contemplated her own career trajectory, the field was brand new and she had to chart her own path.

Lepage is a horse enthusiast who originally came to the University of Guelph to become a veterinarian. She instantly felt at home on campus with its own research horses. Unsure of her path to veterinary school, she turned to other students and teaching assistants for mentorship. After exploring the many available academic pathways at U of G, a longtime interest in genetics which Lepage held since studying the subject in high school, led her to pursue a bachelor of science in cellular and molecular biology. In her third year, a laboratory methods course sparked a passion for research and inspired Lepage to pursue a graduate degree.

“There are a lot of setbacks in research, but I felt invigorated by all these new puzzles to solve,” says Lepage. “It becomes fascinating, like a never-ending story of sorts.”

Lepage earned a master of science in medical genetics from the University of British Columbia, but she was still unsure what her future vocation would be.

At that time, emerging research broadened the applications of stem cells from being solely used as research tools to study development. The studies unveiled the potential to reprogram stem cells into other cells within the body, igniting the field of regenerative medicine and leading to the development of CGTs used to treat specific diseases today.

As Lepage contemplated pursuing a doctorate, she learned of Dr. Thomas Koch, a professor in OVC’s Department of Biomedical Sciences. Koch was applying the new research findings to transform equine umbilical cord stem cells into cartilage tissue, which would become a therapy treatment for arthritis in horses.

Lepage was excited by the prospect of doing research involving horses, and Dr. Koch’s lab was the only facility in Canada where she could get that experience. “Horses originally brought me to U of G, and horses are what brought me back,” she says.

Developing novel therapies in a veterinary capacity did not hinder Lepage’s ability to transfer this knowledge to human medicine later in her career. In fact, Lepage is among a broad spectrum of researchers forging bridges between veterinary and human medicine.

“The field of regenerative medicine has exploded over the last five years.”

The Bench to Bedside Institute for Translational Health Research at OVC specifically promotes research collaborations in and outside the University that unite basic science, veterinary health research and human health research to develop treatments benefiting both animals and humans.

“The key to regenerative medicine is its translational nature,” says Lepage. “In Dr. Koch’s lab, we used stem cells to produce tissue that could eventually cure joint defects in horses before they become arthritis. Then, using the equine model, these same techniques are currently being used to develop arthritis therapies for humans.”

After completing her PhD, Lepage stayed on as a post-doctoral researcher in Koch’s lab, leading to a position in his company, eQcell, which manufactures CGTs for veterinary use.

Lepage attributes her industry success to the skills she gained at eQcell and her solid education at OVC.

At OmniaBio, Lepage develops training programs for the next generation of scientists and manufacturing associates for human CGTs.

“When I started at OmniaBio, having experience working with eQcell helped prepare me to get into the human CGT industry. I learned on the job, but what I brought with me was a tremendous background in education. It’s really the same stuff but scaled up.”

In addition to creating and teaching a course in regenerative medicine at OVC, Lepage is establishing formal pathways to incorporate experiential learning opportunities into the curriculum, particularly for graduate students.

“I think it’s a really important metric because if we don’t offer this to our graduate students, then they enter the job market not feeling confident and sometimes have a hard time knowing what they want to get into.”

Backed by a U of G-wide initiative to provide more hands-on learning opportunities for students, Lepage’s efforts led to introducing a Collaborative Specialization in Regenerative Medicine at OVC in 2021. In this program, graduate students learn about the different applications of CGTs and how they are manufactured. It includes a research component and coursework incorporating a hands-on learning module at an industry lab.

“The goal of this program is to provide our students with additional experiences that complement their research at OVC and give them more skills that are slightly different, as well as industry exposure,” says Lepage.

But Lepage didn’t stop there. In 2023, she facilitated a collaboration between the Canadian Advanced Therapies Training Institute (CATTI) and U of G to build an industry-sponsored laboratory at OVC. The lab offers industry training courses in good laboratory practices, aseptic technique, good manufacturing practices, regulatory affairs and end-to-end processing of CGTs.

With the CATTI lab being located right on campus, students won’t have to go far to get industry exposure. Very shortly, the hands-on learning module that is part of the Collaborative Specialization in Regenerative Medicine will also be carried out right on campus.

Lepage’s passion for the future of regenerative medicine and her pioneering endeavours to bridge industry and academia are coming to fruition.

“We want our students to know that we will give them this base education and a snapshot into the industry. They will have the foundational knowledge to confidently pursue whatever job suits them best.”