Ed Stanley completed his PhD with Ashley Dunn at the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research in Melbourne, working on hematopoietic growth factors and gene targeting in embryonic stem cells. Following his PhD, Ed undertook post-doctoral studies in developmental biology at the National Institute for Medical Research, Mill Hill, London. On his return to Australia, Ed joined Richard Harvey’s cardiac developmental biology laboratory at the Walter and Eliza Hall Institute, Melbourne. Together with colleague Andrew Elefanty, he moved to Monash University in 2002 and established The Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation Laboratory. This laboratory focused on human embryonic stem cell (ESC) differentiation along mesodermal (blood, endothelium and heart) and endodermal (pancreas) lineages. This group developed novel methods for genetic modification of pluripotent stem cells and serum free differentiation protocols. In 2012, Ed moved the Murdoch Childrens Research Institute where he heads the Stem Cell Technology Laboratory. A major goal of his current work is to regulate stem cell differentiation in order to understand human development, to generate tools for drug discovery, and to provide a source of cells for future medical applications.