By Bekah McBride Aging is part of the human experience, but not every experience is the same. Progressive neurodegenerative diseases such as Parkinson’s, Huntington’s, and Alzheimer’s disease present many challenges to patients and their families, …
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SCRMC Director Tim Kamp pens perspectives piece for Quarterly magazine
Nearly twenty-five years ago, University of Wisconsin-Madison researcher James Thomson described the first successful derivation of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). These cells, which are pluripotent, meaning they can form any cell type and self-renewing, meaning they can grow indefinitely in culture, changed the way diseases are understood and treated. While the past two decades have included dramatic advances, there is still much to learn, and clinical trials are just beginning for a variety of degenerative diseases. Dr. Kamp outlines the opportunities, challenges, and the history of stem cell research in his column “Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine: A long, but promising road” available on page 40 of the spring 2022 Quarterly magazine.
Hundreds attend 16th Wisconsin Stem Cell Symposium focusing on stem cell competition
On April 20, 2022, more than 260 students and researchers gathered for the 16th Wisconsin Stem Cell Symposium in Madison, Wis. Co-hosted by the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center (SCRMC) and the BioPharmaceutical Technology Center Institute (BTC Institute), this annual event highlights the latest advances in stem cell science and technology. This year, the symposium focused on stem cell competition, which has important implications for healthy aging and disease states.
Throughout the day, virtual and in-person attendees heard from seven of the world’s leading researchers studying stem cell competition. Additionally, attendees participated in a rapid-fire poster session that included twelve presentations by graduate and post-doctoral researchers. The conversation continued during the lunch and networking session, with the rapid-fire presenters as well as eighteen other researchers sharing their posters throughout the event hall.
The SCRMC and the BTC Institute thank all who attended as well as the sponsors who helped to make this event a success.
Team of SCRMC researchers help to improve quality control for biomanufacturing stem cells
A team of University of Wisconsin-Madison researchers, including members of the Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center (SCRMC), have developed an innovative methodology that can ultimately be used to advance cutting-edge personalized therapies and disease models.
The study, published in the journal GEN Biotechnology, outlines the new methodology which includes a real-time method for tracking the reprogramming of somatic cells to induce pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) using micropatterning, label-free imaging, and machine learning.
This novel study was led by Kaivalya Molugu, a recent PhD graduate in biophysics who worked in SCRMC faculty member and College of Engineering Associate Professor, Krishanu Saha’s lab where Molugu was funded through a Stem Cell and Regenerative Graduate fellowship. The study was a collaborative project with SCRMC faculty member and Professor of Biological Engineering, Melissa Skala’s lab.
SCRMC lab member Samuel Neuman receives 2022 Barry Goldwater Scholarship
University of Wisconsin-Madison biochemistry and biomedical engineering student Samuel Neuman has been awarded the 2022 Barry Goldwater Scholarship. This prestigious scholarship recognizes outstanding undergraduate students who are pursing careers in science and was awarded, in part, due to Neuman’s work in Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center (SCRMC) faculty member Marina Emborg’s Preclinical Parkinson’s Research Program.
As a member of Emborg’s lab, Neuman studies vehicles for delivering CRISPR/Cas9 gene-editing reagents to the brain of multiple model organisms. Through this work, Neuman has earned authorship on a soon-to-be published manuscript. Neuman is also beginning research into a strategic neural-network therapy for Parkinson’s disease and will be conducting research at the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development later this year.
SCRMC member Daniel Z. Radecki recognized for his commitment to improving the lives of all postdocs
Nine University of Wisconsin–Madison postdoctoral researchers have been recognized with the inaugural Postdoc Excellence Awards for their teaching, service and mentoring. The UW–Madison Postdoctoral Association, a volunteer-led advocacy group for postdocs supported by the Office …
Micro-molded ‘ice cube tray’ scaffold is next step in returning sight to injured retinas
Tens of millions of people worldwide are affected by diseases like macular degeneration or have had accidents that permanently damage the light-sensitive photoreceptors within their retinas that enable vision. The human body is not capable …
Metabolic switch may regenerate heart muscle following heart attack
Research from the University of Wisconsin–Madison finds that a new therapeutic approach for heart failure could help restore cardiac function by regenerating heart muscle. In a study recently published in the journal Circulation, the UW …
Individualized brain cell grafts reverse Parkinson’s symptoms in monkeys
Grafting neurons grown from monkeys’ own cells into their brains relieved the debilitating movement and depression symptoms associated with Parkinson’s disease, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison reported today. In a study published in the …
UW vision researchers partner with U.S. Department of Defense to develop stem cell therapy for combat-related eye injuries
The project, led by David Gamm, MD, PhD, director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute and professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health, will develop a transplantable …