Archive for December, 2009
Benefits of Banking Your Newborn’s Umbilical Cord Blood
Last Updated on Wednesday, 30 December 2009 01:12 Written by admin Wednesday, 30 December 2009 01:12
Good Morning America Now Cord blood banking and the emergence of regenerative medicine; Tom Moore, CBR
Technorati Tags: Cerebral Palsy, Cord Blood, pregnant, Private Banking, Regenerative Medicine, Stem Cells
Tags: Cerebral Palsy, Cord Blood, pregnant, Private Banking, Regenerative Medicine, Stem Cells | Posted under Cord Blood Videos | Comments
Ohio Cord Blood Education Bill
Last Updated on Sunday, 27 December 2009 01:02 Written by admin Sunday, 27 December 2009 01:02
State representative Todd Book, has introduced a bill that would encourage doctors to tell expectant parents about their cord blood banking options. If passed, Ohio would be the 18th state to pass the law on cord blood education.
Technorati Tags: blood-education, Cord Blood, Cord Blood Banking, cord blood education, Doctors, Education Bill, Expectant Parents, Law Education, Ohio Education, Ohio State, ohio-, Options, State Representative, Stem Cells, Todd Book, Umbilical Cord Blood
$1.4 Million Grant Received By Boston University School Of Medicine
Last Updated on Friday, 25 December 2009 12:00 Written by Friday, 25 December 2009 12:00
Boston University School of Medicine’s (BUSM) Pulmonary Center has received a two-year $1.4 million grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute to derive stem cells and lung progenitors from patients with lung disease.
Darrell Kotton, MD, associate professor of medicine and pathology, and Gustavo Mostoslavsky, MD, PhD, assistant professor of medicine, are the principal investigators of this new grant award. Together Kotton and Mostoslavsky lead a multicenter investigative team of five Boston University laboratories together with two labs at the University of Pennsylvania and the University of Vermont. The investigators plan to use the grant to derive induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells from skin cells taken from individuals with inherited lung diseases and use them to derive new lung precursor cells. The newly derived cells will be compared to the cells made from individuals without inherited lung diseases and will also be compared to cells made from embryonic stem cells in an effort to better understand the biology of pluripotent stem cells and to develop novel treatments for lung diseases, such as emphysema and cystic fibrosis.
“It is a tremendous privilege to receive this grant from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute,” said Kotton. “We now have the opportunity to make major headway in understanding how the lung develops as well as regenerates after injury.”
Kotton’s research focuses on stem cell biology and gene therapy related to lung injury and repair. He is a principal investigator in the Boston University Pulmonary Center and a member of several research groups, including the Pulmonary Developmental Biology Group. Kotton and Mostoslavsky’s laboratories work closely together to understand the biology of stem cells, focusing on the signals that tell pluripotent stem cells how to develop and form new tissues, such as lung, intestinal, or blood cells.
This year, Kotton and Mostoslavsky became co-directors of the Boston University Center for Regenerative Medicine (CReM), bringing together several research groups to focus on various aspects of stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. CReM’s goal is to advance research in stem cell biology using the embryo’s normal development as a ‘road map’ for how to control the development of stem cells.
Source: Michelle Roberts
Boston University Medical Center
$1.4 Million Grant Received By Boston University School Of Medicine
Originally from:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/174321.php
Technorati Tags: a-faster-pace, biology, boston-university, kotton, maryland, Maryland School, pulmonary, Stem Cells, university
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School Of Medicine Receives $30 Million Grant To Coordinate A Consortium Of National Stem Cell Experts
Last Updated on Friday, 25 December 2009 12:00 Written by Friday, 25 December 2009 12:00
A University of Maryland School of Medicine researcher will lead the coordinating center for a consortium of our nation’s most prominent scientists in the field of stem cell research. Michael L. Terrin, M.D.,C.M.,M.P.H., professor of Epidemiology and Preventive Medicine, was chosen by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to coordinate the research of this consortium of national experts, which will be called the NHLBI Progenitor Cell Biology Consortium. The coordinating center will be funded by a $30 million grant over seven years.
“This consortium was developed to bring together the best and brightest researchers from around the country, in the new and rapidly advancing field of stem and progenitor cell biology. They come from several specialties — cardiology, hematology and pulmonary medicine. All are doing cutting edge research in this exciting new field,” says Dr. Terrin.
E. Albert Reece, M.D., Ph.D., M.B.A, vice president for medical affairs at the University of Maryland and dean of the School of Medicine states, “We have the full resources of the University of Maryland School of Medicine available for the benefit of this project, including a world-class Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.”
Stem cells are uncommitted cells that can change into many types of mature functional cells and can divide indefinitely. Progenitor cells, on the other hand, are partially committed as far as the kinds of cell they can become and how many times they can divide. Once stem cells start to commit to a cell type, they create progenitor cells. One major goal of this research consortium is to use these stem and progenitor cells as regenerative therapy to replace damaged tissues and organs.
The researchers will share their strategies and techniques to identify and characterize how these cells differentiate. Together they will address the challenges of discovering new potential therapies. The NHLBI believes that by sharing information and working together across traditional boundaries, consortium members will advance the field of stem cell and progenitor cell biology at a faster pace and realize the potential for new clinical therapies even sooner. Dr. Terrin and his colleagues on campus have the formidable task of organizing the collaborative efforts of the nine different research hubs in the Consortium.
Dr. Terrin will divide the responsibilities of the Administrative Coordinating Center into three areas: general administration; computer systems; and biological information science. “Our team of nationally known experts, and the facilities at the University of Maryland School of Medicine, made our proposal to coordinate this consortium unique,” Dr. Terrin says, “The resources here are wonderful. I know of no other university or medical school that I would rather have behind my efforts on behalf of this important project.”
The Consortium investigators will need to communicate by voice, videoconference and digital media, as well as have access 24-7 to highly secure computer facilities to work on their projects together. The research coordination team led by Dr. Terrin is composed of individuals who will assure that the information put in the system, as well as records of samples and tissues put into registries (both physical and virtual) will be maintained. They will also ensure that important information from sources outside the Consortium is continually updated. In addition, Dr. Terrin’s team will coordinate conference calls, meetings and funding for their research projects and help the investigators publicize their results of their research.
Curt Civin, M.D., associate dean for Research, professor in the Department of Pediatrics, and director of the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine says, “Our team is responsible for computer systems that operate at the highest level of regulatory standards. Our team has doctoral level expertise in biological sciences and has decades of experience in the administration of multi-center collaborations, as well as an Oscar-winning production company, MedSchool Maryland Productions, which will help researchers with video presentations for the public.”
Dr. Reece adds, “Running the coordinating center of this consortium here is ideal since the state of Maryland provides the perfect supportive environment for stem cell research through their Maryland Stem Cell Research Fund.”
Source: Karen Buckelew
University of Maryland Medical Center
School Of Medicine Receives $30 Million Grant To Coordinate A Consortium Of National Stem Cell Experts
Originally from:
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/174320.php
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