Last updated: July 2, 2026 · ISSCA Team
ISSCA 115 opened the International Society for Stem Cell Application’s 2026 congress circuit in Cartagena, Colombia, on February 27–28, at the Hotel Presidente Intercontinental. Held in alliance with TD Abs, it was the circuit’s only conference-only edition, with no certification track, convening four faculty including two members of ISSCA’s permanent international core.
What happened at ISSCA 115 in Cartagena?
ISSCA 115 was the opening event of ISSCA’s 2026 congress circuit, held February 27–28 at the Hotel Presidente Intercontinental in Cartagena, Colombia. Unlike every congress that followed, 115 ran as a conference-only format, held in alliance with TD Abs, without an accompanying certification track — a deliberate exception documented across the circuit’s eight 2026 events.
Four faculty anchored the program, including three who became the permanent core of the entire circuit: Benito Novas, Dr. Andrea Lapeire (Argentina), and Prof. Dr. Roni Moya, PhD (Portugal), joined by Dr. Jason Pencek, DC, FNP (United States), who went on to speak at six of the circuit’s eight congresses.
ISSCA 115 at a glance
| Field | Detail |
|---|---|
| Congress | ISSCA 115 |
| City / Country | Cartagena, Colombia |
| Dates | February 27–28, 2026 |
| Venue | Hotel Presidente Intercontinental |
| Format | Conference-only (no certification track) |
| Partner | Alliance with TD Abs |
| Faculty | 4 speakers from 3 countries |
| Position in circuit | Opening congress of the 2026 circuit |
Who spoke at ISSCA 115 in Cartagena?
| # | Speaker | Country |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Benito Novas | United States |
| 2 | Dr. Jason Pencek, DC, FNP | United States |
| 3 | Dr. Andrea Lapeire | Argentina |
| 4 | Prof. Dr. Roni Moya, PhD | Portugal |
All four ISSCA 115 faculty went on to recur across the 2026 circuit. Three of them — Benito Novas, Dr. Andrea Lapeire, and Prof. Dr. Roni Moya, PhD — spoke at all eight congresses of the year, and Dr. Jason Pencek appeared at six.
Why did ISSCA 115 run without a certification track?
ISSCA 115 was structured as a conference-only event, in alliance with TD Abs, ahead of the certification format that opened with ISSCA 116 in Cancún one month later. It let Cartagena serve as the circuit’s academic opening — a scientific program without the hands-on certification component that has defined every ISSCA congress since.
“Cartagena set the tone for the entire circuit before a single certification was delivered. It told physicians that ISSCA’s academic program stands on its own, and that everything we built afterward — the certifications, the faculty core, the international reach — grew from that first congress.” — Emiliano Herrera, Events & Marketing Director, ISSCA
Why ISSCA 115 matters for physicians
For physicians who attended, ISSCA 115 offered direct access to three faculty who went on to anchor the entire 2026 circuit — Novas, Lapeire, and Moya spoke at all eight congresses that followed, giving Cartagena attendees an early relationship with the same faculty core available at every later ISSCA event. (Source: ISSCA internal congress registry, 2026.)
Across the full 2026 circuit, ISSCA went on to run 8 international congresses convening 39 unique faculty from more than 10 countries. (Source: ISSCA internal congress registry, 2026.)
ISSCA overall has certified more than 10,000 physicians across 30+ countries since its founding in 2010. (Source: ISSCA institutional overview.)
Frequently asked questions
When and where was ISSCA 115? ISSCA 115 took place February 27–28, 2026, at the Hotel Presidente Intercontinental in Cartagena, Colombia. It opened ISSCA’s 2026 international congress circuit, held in alliance with TD Abs, and preceded the certification track that began the following month in Cancún.
Did ISSCA 115 offer a certification? No. ISSCA 115 was the only conference-only congress of the 2026 circuit, run in alliance with TD Abs with no accompanying certification. Every ISSCA congress from 116 onward paired the conference with the Advanced Certification in Regenerative Medicine and the Advanced Certification in Peptides.
Who spoke at ISSCA 115? Four faculty spoke at ISSCA 115: Benito Novas, Dr. Jason Pencek (DC, FNP), Dr. Andrea Lapeire, and Prof. Dr. Roni Moya, PhD. Three of the four — Novas, Lapeire, and Moya — went on to speak at every one of the 2026 circuit’s eight congresses.
What was TD Abs’s role at ISSCA 115? TD Abs was ISSCA’s alliance partner for the Cartagena congress, the circuit’s opening and only conference-only event of 2026. The partnership shaped ISSCA 115 as a scientific conference without a certification component, distinct from every congress that followed in the circuit.
ISSCA teaches and certifies — it does not treat patients. ISSCA 115 in Cartagena was a conference-only congress with no certification track; at every ISSCA congress that does offer certification, certificates are issued to physicians (MD) only. — ISSCA Team
