I'm interested in cell therapy and stem cell research and I have contributed seminars about it but I'm new to this field and I have not studied a text book about it. What's the best way to start research in this interesting field?
You do not define the domain of your interest in terms of "stem cell therapy".
"Bone and joint health" is not exactly the same domain as cancer ...
Whatever the scientific domain, I usually I do not advice youg researchers to read "textbooks", but rather "up to date" articles in their scientific domain of interest ...
Textbooks in such a "hot topic" as "stem cells" will have "pre-digested" the info and the risk remains that your opinion will be "oriented" ... once you will have read the textbook ...
In contrast, reading top articles in such a hot domain as "stem cells" will oblige you to draw your own opinion on the subject ... because the "top scientists" in "hot topics" (such as stem cells among others) do not "always fully" agree on "everything" ...
Coming back to the cancer area / arena, actual stem cell therapies do not yet exist ... because "cancer tem cells" are actually nasty ennemies to be combated in terms of cancer patient treatment.
Here attached are some articles on "cancer tem cells" that I (humbly) estimate more than intersting.
If you want to enter the cancer arena, I think that you shoudl first read the more than comprehensive review by Hanahan and Weinberg on the hallmarks of cancers,
"Then" having an idea about what means "metastases",
"Then" maybe in the menu ... some insights about the "tumor microenvironment" ...
and you will see that unfortunately for cancer patients these "cancer stem cells" are everywhere ...
Hi, my brother also joins in this field and I am also interested in it. My advice for you is looking for some books about stem cell online or youtube such as:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=62FdhX-zS2Y
Because this is a very new field, I think it is very hard to find text book. But general books or articles are available.
You also need to study more about molecular biology, cell biology and biochemistry which are very helpful for your basic knowledge of stem cell.