University of Wisconsin – Madison
By Bekah McBride 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 …
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 …
By Bekah McBride 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). In this new role, Galipeau, who is also the associate dean for Therapeutics Development at the University of Wisconsin …
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 …
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, and researchers like University of Wisconsin–Madison junior Samuel Neuman are using stem cells and regenerative medicine to find a solution. …
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.
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.
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.
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.
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 of Postdoctoral Studies, launched the awards to honor postdocs for their outstanding efforts in these areas. The recipients of the …