This is a science blog. The content focuses on things in and around Boston though it sometimes strays into the world at large. Please, let me begin by taking a moment to introduce myself. My name is Willy and I work in Boston, Mass. I’ve been in New England for about five years or so, first as a post-doc at the Whitehead Institute in Cambridge and more recently at Children’s Hospital Boston , the Harvard Medical School , and the Harvard Stem Cell Institute . My background is in human genetics (molecular and medical) but I call myself a stem cell researcher these days. I spend most of my time using human embryonic stem cells to study biology and disease, primarily of the blood system. The thing that interests me most in my research is how genetic mutations, like the ones that cause hereditary diseases, impact the growth of tissues and organs. That’s why I use embryonic stem cells. ES cells have yet to become any type of mature tissue. I alter their genes and then study how those changes impact the formation of more specific cells (like those in the blood). It’s a powerful system to learn new things about human growth, healthy or otherwise. My work also puts me in the middle of an incredibly important debate about what it means to be human and how far science should be allowed to go. That’s why I’m also involved in areas beyond my lab research. I lecture publicly on stem cells and also spend a fair amount of time involved in policy work. Being away from the lab bench makes my own research move more slowly than it could, but I’m in this for the long haul. I believe in the work, I think the public deserves to know not just what we are doing but why, and finally, I love science. If you’d like to hear more, please visit my website.