Janet Rossant is a developmental biologist who uses cellular and genetic techniques to study how genes control the development of early embryos, along with the processes that result in the specialisation of stem cells. Among her many achievements in this field has been the discovery of a new type of stem cell.

By studying how cell fate is determined in mouse embryos, Janet’s research is improving our understanding of how to maintain and differentiate stem cells. This knowledge can then be applied to the development of human stem cells into cell types with applications in the study of cell biology and disease.

Janet has received many awards for her research, including the 2004 Killam Prize for Health Sciences of the Canada Council for the Arts and the prestigious Ross Harrison Prize of the International Society of Developmental Biologists in 2013. In addition, she served as the President of the International Society for Stem Cell Research in 2013, and is an active contributor to various scientific and ethical discussions on stem cell studies.