Loring has a B.S. in Molecular Biology from the University of
Washington and a Ph.D. in Developmental Neurobiology from the
University of Oregon. She served on the faculty of the University
of California, Davis, and has held research and management positions
at biotechnology companies including Hana Biologics, GenPharm
International, Molecular Dynamics, and Incyte Genomics, and was
founder and chief scientific officer of Arcos BioScience (now part of
Novocell). She joined the faculty of the Burnham Institute for
Medical Research as a principal investigator in January 2004 and was
one of the principal architects of Burnham's successful human
embryonic stem cell program. She joined The Scripps Research
Institute last October.
Loring served for 10 years as member and chair of the Clinical Neuroscience review committee of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), and currently serves on the Review Board of the Medical and Scientific Advisory Council of the Alzheimer's Association and the Regulatory and Ethics Board for the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation Global Challenge. She was co-director of one of the country's first six NIH-funded Stem Cell Centers, and is director of two of the seven NIH Human Embryonic Stem Cell Training Courses. She serves as a member of the ISCI (International Stem Cell Initiative), a multinational group that is establishing scientific standards for human embryonic stem cell research, and is a member of the Standards Committee for the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR).
Loring has been working with human embryonic stem cells for nearly a decade and her current research focuses on discovering the molecular basis of their pluripotence and differentiation. A key goal of her research is to discover the key elements that control the unique human embryonic stem cell regulatory molecular network and use this knowledge for improved reprogramming methods for human somatic cells.In addition to investigating the fundamental biology of human embryonic stem cells, Loring is developing practical applications for these cells for drug discovery, drug delivery, and cell therapy. A major interest of her laboratory is to use stem cells to discover novel therapies for Alzheimer's disease.
In concert with her basic and applied research, Loring is engaged in training the next generation of stem cell scientists. Her book, Human Stem Cell Manual: A Laboratory Guide, published in June 2007, is the first bench-side manual for stem cell researchers. She is also involved in the ethical and legal issues that hinder the progress of human embryonic stem cell research worldwide. She founded the privately funded Stem Cell Community, a website for sharing information about human embryonic stem cell, and advises the Stem Cell Resource, which allows IVF patients to donate their excess embryos to research. She led the recent challenge to patents that restrict the use of human embryonic stem cells in the United States.