Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Center

Center Update

Researchers overcome a major barrier in using stem cell therapy for heart repair

For the nearly one million Americans who have a heart attack each year, receiving care in the first 90 minutes is a critical step towards restoring blood flow to the jeopardized heart muscle. Unfortunately, many patients do not receive care in this window, so a portion of their functioning heart muscle dies. Researchers have turned to stem cells as they aim to help these individuals regenerate heart muscle cells, but previous studies have shown an increased risk of life-threatening heart arrhythmias following this intervention. A new study from the University of Wisconsin–Madison is helping to remove this roadblock by advancing a different, safer approach to heart muscle regeneration.

August 27, 2025

Supercharging the Superheroes of the Immune System: UW researchers discover new ways to use the human immune system’s innate fighting abilities in the battle against tumors

When illness strikes, white blood cells are the first cells on the scene. Much like a team of superheroes they each complete their specialized task, engulfing bacteria, controlling the immune response, and cleaning up dead or damaged cells. Leading the charge, is the macrophage, which literally translates to “big eater”. These white blood cells destroy illnesses, recruit other immune cells, and clean up the aftermath. Given their incredible power to heal us, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are exploring ways that these cells can be used to fight tumors through immunotherapy.

August 25, 2026

ICTR partners with the SCRMC to fund an interdisciplinary research team

The SCRMC and ICTR have partnered to co-fund the study Generation of a Humanized Rat for Translational Studies in Immunology. Additionally, SCRMC members are participating in two other interdisciplinary research teams funded by ICTR.

August 3, 2026

A molecular ‘override’ for inherited blindness: Bikash Pattnaik’s research group publishes recent paper

For children born with a rare form of inherited blindness called Leber congenital amaurosis type 16 (LCA16), the genetic culprit can be a single miswritten instruction in their DNA — a so-called “nonsense mutation” that tells the cell to stop building a critical protein before it’s finished. The result is a truncated, nonfunctional protein, a retina that cannot do its job, and progressive loss of sight with no approved treatment.

July 3, 2026

The Two Owens

This is the story of Owen Petrzelka and SCRMC member Owen Tamplin. This is a story about smart people and tragedy, about a cancer called diffuse intrinsic pontine glioma, or DIPG, and how science slowly works to help us understand things that terrify us so that we can confront them. And it’s about what America risks when its government impedes research.

June 3, 2026

Congratulations to the 2026 SURF winners!

The Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center labs will welcome five new members this summer, as a part of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF), which supports motivated University of Wisconsin–Madison undergraduate students as they pursue research in stem cell science and regenerative medicine.

May 6, 2026

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