Traumatic spinal cord injuries (SCIs) at the cervical level can lead to life-threatening breathing impairments. The extent of long-term functional improvement following SCI remains limited and it is therefore necessary to develop effective therapeutic interventions including transplantation of neural cells to replace lost cells and promote connectivity. While the focus has been on neurons, it is important to include immature astrocytes as they can promote neuroprotection, regeneration, and connectivity. We aim to leverage advanced cellular engineering techniques by co-transplanting human induced pluripotent stem cell (hiPSC)-derived astrocytes with hiPSC-derived neurons (i.e. V2a subtype), in cervical SCI model associated with significant respiratory impairment. To achieve this, we initiated our efforts by attempting to differentiate astrocytes from one hiPSC line. However, our initial protocol involving ciliary neurotrophic factor and Noggin for 30 days did not yield cells positive for either the glial progenitor marker (A2B5) or the astrocytic marker (GFAP). This suggests that either the differentiation protocol itself or the inherent characteristics of this particular hiPSC line were not conducive to robust astrocyte generation. In response, our ongoing studies are focused on two main objectives: a) Developing a more efficient differentiation protocol utilizing specific factors known to promote astrocyte conversion, such as Activin-A and Heregulinβ1. b) Exploring alternative hiPSC lines, namely KOLF2.1J and WTC11, which have previously demonstrated efficacy in astrocytic differentiation assays. By pursuing these avenues, we aim to enhance our ability to generate functional astrocytes from hiPSCs, thus advancing our capacity to model and potentially treat cervical SCI-related respiratory deficits.