Gene therapy protects against motor neuron disease in rats
A group of UW–Madison scientists led by Anjon Audhya, a SCRMC member and professor of biomolecular chemistry, used CRISPR-Cas9 technology to develop a rat model that carries a genetic mutation associated with Hereditary spastic paraplegia, or HSP, a group of movement disorders that cause progressive weakness and stiffness in the legs of people with certain inherited genetic mutations. This model can be used in developing and testing new treatments.
November 12, 2024
STAT news names Kris Saha one of the 10 scientists who are moving CRISPR gene editing forward
Kris Saha, SCRMC member, has been named one of 10 scientists moving CRISPR gene editing forward.
Nov 5, 2024
Discovery to Product Awards Funds to Seven Campus Startups
Eric G. Schmuck, SCRMC member, research assistant professor and director of research at the Center for Biomedical Swine Research and Innovation, with Cellular Logistics, will evaluate a biomaterial’s potential to reduce post-heart attack damage and restore cardiac function in a swine model. Data from this UW–Madison and Cellular Logistics collaboration is crucial for supporting FDA filings for a first human clinical trial.
September 25, 2024
Optical imaging technique gives a closer look at new ways to grow heart cells
New research published in the journal Biophotonics Discovery describes an imaging method to observe stem-cell derived cardiomyocytes grown in a variety of biosynthetic hydrogels and assess the ideal conditions for successful growth.
Morgridge Postdoctoral Fellow Danielle Desa adapted optical imaging techniques she learned with the Melissa Skala Lab to support stem cell biology research in the Bioinspired Materials Lab led by William Murphy at UW–Madison’s Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center.
August 27, 2024
Linde Lee Jacobs brings patient advocacy, personal journey to UW–Madison
Honoring her mother, while helping advance research on frontal temporal dementia (FTD) is Linde Lee Jacobs’ mission.
It’s what recently brought her to the University of Wisconsin–Madison, including a visit to the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center. There, she learned about the work of Marina Emborg, professor of medical physics in the School of Medicine and Public Health (SMPH) and a SCRMC member, who directs the university’s Preclinical Parkinson’s research program and studies other neurological degenerative diseases.
May 3, 2024
Announcing the 2024 SCRMC Research Training Award Winners
The 2024 SCRMC Research Training Awards Program provides unique, interdisciplinary training for five future leaders in stem cell and regenerative medicine research.
May 1, 2024
Nanomaterial that mimics proteins could be basis for new neurodegenerative disease treatments
A newly developed nanomaterial that mimics the behavior of proteins could be an effective tool for treating Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases.
April 25, 2024
Congratulations to the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Award Winners!
The SCRMC labs will welcome six 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.
April 16, 2024
Heart regeneration pioneer to join UW–Madison, Morgridge Institute
Kenneth Poss, a biologist who explores the potential life-saving mechanisms of how organisms regenerate damaged heart and spinal cord tissue will join the UW–Madison and the Morgridge Institute for Research this fall. Deneen Wellik, chair of cell and regenerative biology and a SCRMC member, says Poss is coming to Madison at a great time. “To have added such an outstanding leader will amplify our strength in this field and augment continued growth at UW–Madison. Further, expertise in imaging and genomics at UW–Madison will complement advances in regenerative biology.”
April 9, 2024
New tool provides researchers with improved understanding of stem cell aging in the brain
Researchers are one step closer to understanding the cellular mechanisms underlying stem cell aging in the brain thanks to a new tool developed at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
March 27, 2024
SCRMC members lead the way in developing ISSCR standards that enhance reproducibility and rigor
These guidelines were developed through collaboration with researchers across the globe. Among those leading the charge were Stem Cell Regenerative Medicine Center (SCRMC) members Tenneille Ludwig, PhD, a senior scientist and director of the WiCell Stem Cell Bank, and Anita Bhattacharyya, PhD, an associate professor of Cell and Regenerative Biology at the University of Wisconsin–Madison.
March 12, 2024
UW–Madison researchers first to 3D-print functional human brain tissue
A team of University of Wisconsin–Madison scientists including SCRMC member Su-Chun Zhang have developed the first 3D-printed brain tissue that can grow and function like typical brain tissue.
February 1, 2024
UW researchers uncover new clues about the cause of common birth defects
A recent study led by Robert Lipinski, a SCRMC member and associate professor of comparative biosciences at the UW School of Veterinary Medicine, has uncovered new information about orofacial development in mice that researchers believe could one day help reduce the risk of these birth defects in humans.
January 31, 2024
2024 SURF Program Applications Now Open
This program pairs a motivated, talented UW–Madison undergraduate student, who is in the first half of their undergraduate career and is interested in pursuing research in the regenerative medicine and stem cell sciences, with a graduate student or postdoctoral fellow mentor in one of the labs in the UW SCRMC.
January 30, 2024
Team of SCRMC members receives WARF Innovation Award
The first 2023 WARF Innovation Award has been given to the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Ahmed Mahmoud, assistant professor of cell and regenerative biology; Timothy Kamp, professor of medicine and director of the SCRMC; and Youngsook Lee, emeritus professor of cell and regenerative biology; for their work, Regenerating and Renewing Heart Tissue.
The team discovered a protein, LRRC10, that activates heart renewal and regeneration in animal models. This discovery could lead to a therapeutic that restores cardiac structure and function in human heart failure patients.
January 2, 2024
Stem cell technology developed at UW–Madison leads to new understanding of Autism risks
Technology developed at the University of Wisconsin–Madison to grow “rosettes” of brain and spinal tissue gives scientists new ways to study the growing human brain, including a recent study of how genetic mutations linked to autism affect early stages of human brain development.
December 20, 2024
UW effort to map Down syndrome brain raises prospect of treatment for disorder
SCRMC members Anita Bhattacharyya and Su-Chun Zhang discuss the brain atlas project, which involves four faculty and 15 lab researchers. It is part of a federal program started five years ago to boost research funding for Down syndrome, the most common genetic cause of intellectual disability.
October 24, 2023
Combining cell types may lead to improved cardiac cell therapy following a myocardial infarction
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison and Academia Sinica, Taiwan, have identified a novel strategy that harnesses a combination of lab-grown cells to regenerate damaged heart muscle, marking a noteworthy advancement in cardiac regeneration research.
October 17, 2023
Patient hails new UW Health dry mouth treatment a ‘game-changer’
SCRMC member and UW Health radiation oncologist, Dr. Randy Kimple discusses a new cell therapy that is currently in Phase 1 trials at UW Health. This cell therapy was developed together with the UW Program for Advanced Cell Therapy led by Dr. Jacque Gallipeau. The treatment aims to aid patients who are experiencing dry mouth as a side effect of radiation treatment.
October 13, 2023
Discovery reveals mitochondria as potential treatment target for fragile X syndrome
A new study published today in the journal Neuron by researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison showed that FMRP, a protein deficient in individuals with fragile X syndrome, has a role in the function of mitochondria, part of a cell that produces energy, during prenatal development. Their results fundamentally change how scientists understand the developmental origins of fragile X syndrome and suggest a potential treatment for brain cells damaged by the dysfunction.
October 10, 2024
Casey Ostheimer knows how to nurture
Explore the academic adventures of undergraduate research assistant Casey Ostheimer, who worked with SCRMC and SMPH faculty member Owen Tamplin.
September 19, 2023
Computational tool helps uncover gene networks of cell fate
New research from the Wisconsin Institute for Discovery (WID) and SCRMC member Sushmita Roy, is providing key insights that will aid researchers in constructing a more precise view of what drives cellular identity.
August 10, 2023
New research expands understanding of impact of rapamycin on fragile X syndrome
A new study led by Waisman investigator and SCRMC member Xinyu Zhao, highlights the role elevated levels of the protein MAP1B and ASD play in fragile X syndrome (FXS) symptoms and identifies a potential treatment using the FDA-approved drug rapamycin. SCRMC members and Waisman investigators Andre Sousa and Qiang Chang also contributed to the study.
July 6, 2023
SCRMC director and collaborators receive Research Forward Award
Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Director, Tim Kamp and a team of collaborators will receive one of sixteen Research Forward grants to study new avenues to treat heart failure using an engineered enzyme and human pluripotent stem cells.
May 31, 2023
Congratulations to the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) Award Winners!
These talented undergraduate students will be paired with mentors for more than 10-weeks of collaborative research.
May 17, 2023
2023 SCRMC Research Training Award Winners Announced
We invite you to meet the winners of the 2023 SCRMC Research Training Awards Program, which provides unique, interdisciplinary training for four future leaders in stem cell and regenerative medicine research. Additionally, this program will foster interdisciplinary collaborations among campus investigators.
April 18, 2023
Two SCRMC members receive the 2023-2024 Vilas Associates Award
Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine members Feyza Engin and Ahmed Mahmoud have received the 2023-2024 University of Wisconsin-Madison Vilas Associates Award. This honor recognizes new and on-going research of the highest quality and significance.
April 17, 2023
SCRMC researchers identify cell type that could be key to preventing marrow transplant complication
New research from the University of Wisconsin–Madison is helping to change that by identifying the cell population that causes GVHD, a target that may make bone marrow transplants safer and more effective.
March 24, 2023
New nanocapsules deliver therapy brain-wide, edit Alzheimer’s gene in mice
Gene therapies have the potential to treat neurological disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, but they face a common barrier — the blood-brain barrier. Now, researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison have developed a way to move therapies across the brain’s protective membrane to deliver brain-wide therapy with a range of biological medications and treatments.
February 1, 2023
Lab-grown retinal eye cells make successful connections, open door for clinical trials to treat blindness
A new study suggests that retinal cells grown from stem cells may be ready for trials in humans with degenerative eye disorders.
The organized clusters of cells, or organoids, used in the study were developed in the lab of David Gamm, a SCRMC member, UW–Madison ophthalmology professor, and director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute. While these organoids were developed nearly a decade ago, this is the first time that Gamm and his lab have shown that the organoids have the capacity to communicate across synapses, tiny gaps between cells. This is an important development, which indicates that these organoids can replace diseased cells and carry sensory information to the brain.
January 24, 2023
Improved understanding of early spinal cord development paves the way for new treatments
Researchers at the University of Wisconsin–Madison are developing the means to turn stem cells into a wide range of specific types of spinal cord neurons and cells in the hindbrain — the critical nexus between the spinal cord and the brain — paving the way for improved prevention and treatment of spinal cord disease.
October 18, 2022
New Department of Defense Grant to Study Fragile X Syndrome in Human Cells
A new study will characterize human stem cell models of fragile X syndrome (FXS) to better understand the mechanisms behind FXS symptoms and how those may inform the search for effective therapies. The study, which will be supported by a three-million-dollar U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) grant, will be led by Xinyu Zhao professor of neuroscience, and Anita Bhattacharyya, assistant professor of cell and regenerative biology. Both are also Waisman Center investigators and Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine members.
October 4, 2022
SURF program prepares students to ride the waves of research
The Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center labs welcomed new members this summer, as five talented undergraduate students joined mentors for more than 10-weeks of collaborative research. This unique experience is a part of the Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF), which supports motivated University of Wisconsin–Madison undergraduate students as they pursue research in the stem cell sciences.
September 28, 2022
New study identifies protein essential to form stem cell-derived human heart cells
Lab-grown human heart cells provide a powerful tool to understand and potentially treat heart disease. However, the methods to produce human heart cells from pluripotent stem cells are not optimal. Fortunately, a new study out of the University of Wisconsin-Madison Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Center, is providing key insight that will aid researchers in growing cardiac cells from stem cells.
June 29, 2022
SCRMC researchers uncover how stem cell-derived photoreceptors reach their targets
A new study investigating the growth of photoreceptors may have implications for the treatment of retinal diseases that cause blindness. The study, published in Cell Reports, was led by Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (SCRMC) researcher Timothy Gomez, professor of neuroscience, Sarah Rempel, a postdoctoral researcher in the Gomez lab, and SCRMC researcher David Gamm, professor of ophthalmology.
June 21, 2022
Jacques Galipeau named president of the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy
Increasing place of care manufacturing and deployment of cell therapies is a core mission for Jacques Galipeau, MD, who was recently named president of the International Society for Cell and Gene Therapy (ISCT).
June 20, 2022
Team of SCRMC researchers awarded Research Forward grant
A team of Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Center (SCRMC) researchers will investigate cell therapy as a treatment for brain disorders, injuries, and aging thanks to a Research Forward grant. The project’s multidisciplinary team, which includes Principal Investigator and SCRMC member Krishanu Saha, hope that this research will lead to advancements in the treatment of neurodevelopmental and neurodegenerative disorders like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s Disease.
June 7, 2022
When age is more than a number: Undergraduate SCRMC lab member Samuel Neuman focuses on regenerative medicine as a way to impede diseases of degeneration and aging
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, and researchers like University of Wisconsin-Madison junior Samuel Neuman are using stem cells and regenerative medicine to find a solution. Read more
May 3, 2022
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.
May 2, 2022
SMPH
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.
April 21, 2022
College of Engineering
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 pursuing 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.
April 18, 2022
A science trailblazer retires: Stem cell researcher James Thomson’s legacy changed the future of biology
James Thomson helped the scientific world turn its attention to the shape-shifting stem cells that give rise to all of the building blocks of complex living organisms, from skin and bone, to hearts and blood, to neurons and brains.
After more than 30 years with the University of Wisconsin–Madison and 15 years with the Morgridge Institute for Research, Thomson has announced plans to retire in July 2022.
“There are few scientists in the world, across all of history, with the ability to translate their deep curiosity about life into discoveries that fundamentally change what’s possible for humanity,” says UW–Madison Chancellor Rebecca Blank. “We are all fortunate that Jamie Thomson dedicated his own life and career to such pursuits, and we are especially grateful he did so at UW–Madison. His work has influenced generations of our students and scholars.”
March 3, 2022
Morgridge Institute for Research
UW study finds photoreceptor cells from retinal organoids can replicate key functions of vision
Researchers from the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health have successfully shown that a retinal cell type derived from human pluripotent stem cells is capable of the complex process of detecting light and converting that signal to electrical waves. Co-author and Stem Cell Center member, Dr. Gamm noted, “The more we can push retina organoids to perform at a high level in a [cell culture] dish, the more confidence we have that they may help patients with blinding disorders. So, it’s a big leap in human pluripotent stem cell technology in terms of its applications to retinal disease.”
February 2, 2022
SMPH News
Antisense therapy in a rat model of Alexander disease reverses GFAP pathology, white matter deficits, and motor impairment
Gain-of-function mutations in the GFAP gene are the cause of Alexander disease (AxD), a leukodystrophy characterized by motor and cognitive impairments and seizures, among other symptoms. Co-researchers from the Messing Lab at UW-Madison’s Waisman Center helped develop a rat model of AxD that closely mimics the clinical phenotype and showed that the animals developed the major hallmarks of AxD as they matured.
Nov. 18, 2021
Science Translational Medicine
UW Health treats first patient in U.S. with investigational cell therapy for heart disease
Appleton resident Donald Krause became the first patient in the country last week to undergo an investigational cell therapy for a debilitating heart condition called chronic myocardial ischemia (CMI). Krause was treated by Amish Raval, MD, an interventional cardiologist at UW Health, supported by Peiman Hematti, MD, a bone marrow transplantation hematologist at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
October 29, 2021
SMPH News
Stem cell project to create new model to study brain development and Down syndrome
Center members Dr. Anita Bhattacharyy and Dr. Su-Chun Zhang, in collaboration with Waisman and the University of Washington-Seattle and Seattle Children’s Hospital, have been awarded an $11 million Transformative Research grant from the National Institutes of Health to create a new approach using stem cells that may reveal how brain development in individuals with Down syndrome differs from typically developing individuals, identify features that will help understand their intellectual disability, and find potential targets for therapy. They will also address questions that remain unanswered about brain development overall.
October 7th, 2021
UW News
FDA approves Madison-based skin graft technology to treat burns
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved StrataGraft, a topical treatment for severe burns made from skin tissue, providing a boost for Madison-based firm Stratatech. Stratatech was founded in 2000 by SCRMC member Lynn Allen-Hoffman, the first female University of Wisconsin-Madison faculty member to start a biotech company.
June 16, 2021
The Cap Times
UW Begins New Clinical Trial to Treat Fatal Blood Disease in Children, Young Adults
The Food and Drug Administration-approved trial will use a form of transplant that replaces a patient’s bone marrow with alpha-beta T-cell depleted peripheral blood stem cells from closely matched unrelated donors or family members.
May 27, 2021
Stem Cell Research: Celebrating 25 Years Of Amazing Discoveries
Over the past two decades, stem cell research at UW-Madison has grown from involving a handful of scientists to nearly 100 from more than 30 schools, colleges and departments.
May 25, 2021
Quarterly Magazine, Vol. 23, No. 1
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. Daniel Z. Radecki (Comparative Biosciences) received one of these awards.
“The defining feature of Dan’s work with the (UW–Madison Postdoctoral Association) and others is his commitment to bettering the lives of all postdocs. He envisions how each event and initiative can best impact the individual, through the lenses of diversity and inclusion, immigration status, postdocs’ personal lives (e.g. childcare considerations), department/discipline, and more.”
Congratulations, Daniel!
April 29, 2021
Micro-molded ‘ice cube tray’ scaffold is next step in returning sight to injured retinas
Researchers at UW–Madison have made new photoreceptors from human pluripotent stem cells. However, it remains challenging to precisely deliver those photoreceptors within the diseased or damaged eye so that they can form appropriate connections, says David Gamm, director of the McPherson Eye Research Institute and professor of ophthalmology and visual sciences at the UW School of Medicine and Public Health.
“While it was a breakthrough to be able to make the spare parts — these photoreceptors — it’s still necessary to get them to the right spot so they can effectively reconstruct the retina,” he says. “So, we started thinking, ‘How can we deliver these cells in a more intelligent way?’ That’s when we reached out to our world-class engineers at UW–Madison.”
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 team describes its success in improving, in a mouse model, the function of heart muscle by temporarily blocking a key metabolic enzyme after a heart attack. This simple intervention, the researchers say, could ultimately help people regain cardiac function. “Our goal was to gain new understanding of how the heart can heal itself following injury at the molecular and cellular level and see if there was a way to restore cardiac function to an earlier state,” says UW–Madison’s Ahmed Mahmoud, professor of cell and regenerative biology in the School of Medicine and Public Health.
Learn more about the research here.
April 15, 2021
Clinical Hematopoietic Cell Processing Laboratory achieves more than minimal manipulation accreditation from FACT
Peiman Hematti, MD, is the director of Clinical Hematopoietic Cell Processing Laboratory at UW-Madison. Much of his research is aimed at improving post-transplant immunological complications, such as graft-versus-host disease. But Hematti and his team are also working to develop and test new cellular therapies for cancer treatment.
His lab’s ability to do that took a giant step forward in late 2020 when they received word from FACT – the Foundation for the Accreditation of Cellular Therapy – that the lab had received certification to do “more than minimal cell manipulation.”
“This is a big deal,” Hematti said. “We are the only lab on campus that has this accreditation, which is the culmination of years of working hard and proving that we can do it right and credit goes to our entire team and especially our senior cell therapy lab specialists.”
April 7, 2021
UW Health
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 journal Nature Medicine the UW team describes its success with neurons made from cells from the monkeys’ own bodies after reprogramming to induced pluripotent stem cells. UW–Madison neuroscientist Su-Chun Zhang, whose Waisman Center lab grew the brain cells, said this approach avoided complications with the primates’ immune systems and takes an important step toward a treatment for millions of human Parkinson’s patients. Learn more about their work here.
March 1, 2021
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 patch to restore vision to members of the armed forces who have been injured by blasts or lasers.
December 11, 2020
New Visualization Method Gets to the Heart of Parkinson’s Disease
This week, the NIH Office of Research Infrastructure Programs highlights Dr. Marina Emborg, her WNPRC lab team and their UW–Madison colleagues’ advances in detecting heart disease in Parkinson’s and evaluating new therapies that specifically target nerve disease within the human heart.
December 2020
Celebrating 25 Years of Embryonic Stem Cell Research at UW–Madison
It’s been 25 years since University of Wisconsin–Madison scientist James Thomson became the first in the world to successfully isolate and culture primate embryonic stem cells. He accomplished this breakthrough first with nonhuman primates at the Wisconsin National Primate Research Center in 1995, using rhesus monkey cells, then in 1996 with marmoset cells. Thomson then published his world-changing breakthrough on human embryonic stem cell derivation in Science on Nov. 6, 1998.
November 6, 2020
Study points way to possible new treatment for ligament injuries
“EEMs and exosomes each have attractive characteristics as therapeutics,” Dr. Hematti, UW-Madison’s Department of Medicine, noted.” As a cell therapy, EEMs will not proliferate or differentiate to undesirable cell types, which remains a concern for many stem cell therapies. Moreover, EEMs could be generated from a patient’s own monocytes using off-the-shelf exosomes, resulting in a faster and more facile process compared to autologous MSCs. Alternatively, exosome therapy could be a cell free, shelf-stable therapeutic to deliver biologically active components.” “Altogether, we believe our studies’ results support the use of EEMs and/or exosomes to improve ligament healing by modulating inflammation and tissue remodeling,” Dr. Vanderby concluded.
November 3, 2020
Peiman Hematti helps steer future of cell therapy
Congratulations to SCRMC faculty member Peiman Hematti, M.D., who has been appointed as co-chair of the Autoimmune Diseases and Cellular Therapy Working Committee for the Center for International Blood and Marrow Transplant Research.
UW scientists create a recipe to make human blood-brain barrier
The blood-brain barrier is the brain’s gatekeeper. A nearly impenetrable shield of cells, it keeps toxins and other agents that may be in circulating blood from gaining access to and harming the brain.
The SURFers’ Diaries: Not Your Typical Summer Vacation
Life may not have been a day at the beach for students in this year’s Summer Undergraduate Research Fellowship (SURF) program, but they would not have traded their experiences for anything… and at least one …
WARF announces annual grant figures and Innovation Award winners
At a ceremony honoring several of the year’s most outstanding inventions, the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF) announced that it has granted the university $61.9 million for the 2017-18 academic year. WARF also announced $19 …
National Eye Institute awards prize for ‘Retina in a dish’ competition
Congratulations to SCRMC member David Gamm and team for receiving an honorable mention award in the National Eye Institute’s 3-D Retina Organoid Challenge. The winning team, four other honorable mention awardees and all winners’ proposals …
UW–Madison to partner in $20 million cell-based therapy center
The National Science Foundation has awarded nearly $20 million to a consortium of universities, including the University of Wisconsin–Madison, to support a new engineering research center that will develop transformative tools and technologies for the …
Advance furthers stem cells for use in drug discovery, cell therapy
Since highly versatile human stem cells were discovered at the University of Wisconsin–Madison nearly 20 years ago, their path to the market and clinic has been slowed by a range of complications.
Both embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells are valued for their ability to form any cell in the body.
Stem cell advance brings bioengineered arteries closer to reality
Morgridge Institute regenerative biology researchers Jue Zhang and Matt Brown examine a part for a new bioreactor designed to help grow arterial tissue. Morgridge Institute for Research Stem cell…
Department of Medicine Faculty Members Awarded UW2020 Funding
A project entitled “‘Cardioimmunotherapy’ – A Paradigm Shifting Concept: Engineering Cardio-Reparative Macrophages by Cardiac Specific Exosomes” led by Co-Principal…
Stem cells yield nature’s blueprint for body’s vasculature
Scientists are poised to get a better look at the fundamental development of the cells that make up blood vessels and how they can be more reliably cultured in the laboratory dish. Writing this week…
Department of Medicine Faculty Members Awarded UW2020 Funding
UW Law Professor R. Alta Charo was senior policy adviser to the commissioner at the Food and Drug Administration from August 2009 until June 2011. Now back on campus, Charo spoke reflects on her time…
Three distinguished University of Wisconsin-Madison scientists will meet with corporate chief executives who graduated from the university to brief them on the business applications and marketability…