Newswise — Researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago have been awarded $2 million by the Illinois Regenerative Medicine Institute (IRMI) of the State of Illinois to establish a Center for the Development of Stem Cell Therapies for Human Diseases.
The UIC center will launch five stem cell research projects which will reflect the goal of the IRMI to provide state support for stem cell research to gain a better understanding of the causes of disease and to develop the capacity to treat and cure.
Cancers and genetic disorders of the blood, acute respiratory distress syndrome and cardiac failure are the three diseases targeted by the center, according to Dr. Ronald Hoffman, Eileen Heidrick Professor of Oncology at UIC College of Medicine, overall coordinator of the UIC center.
"The center will energize both basic research in stem cell biology and clinical research in the utilization of stem cell therapeutics," said Hoffman. "Stem cell biology is one of the frontiers of modern biology, in which UIC already has considerable strength."
One project will focus on improving the recovery of stem cells from umbilical cord blood to treat blood cancers and genetic disorders of the blood. Efforts to harvest the large numbers of stem cells from cord blood necessary to treat adults have been stymied by difficulties in keeping these stem cells alive and increasing their numbers in culture.
Another project, with the ultimate goal of regenerating cardiac cells in the failing human heart, will investigate the differentiation of embryonic and cord blood stem cells into cardiac cells.
Acute respiratory distress syndrome, an inflammatory lung injury that occurs unpredictably after a wide range of triggers such as pneumonia and trauma, is fatal more than 50 percent of the time and has no cure. A third project will focus on a genetic modification of a rare type of adult stem cell in the bone marrow, called mesenchymal stem cells, which will be studied for possible therapies for graft-versus-host disease, a common complication of transplantation.
Other projects include an investigation of new strategies for improving the effectiveness of transplantation of human embryonic stem cells. The center will also generate several new embryonic stem cell lines for future use.
Investigators will be drawn from six departments and divisions of the UIC College of Medicine.
"The collaborative nature of this research reflects the UIC priority for interdisciplinary research and translational research in our strategic plan," said Eric Gislason, vice chancellor for research. As part of the UIC commitment to the center and to development of stem cell research, the university will cover any indirect costs, ensuring that the entire IRMI grant can be devoted to research.
The projects will be directed by Dr. Nadim Mahmud, assistant professor of hematology and oncology; Dr. George Honig, professor of pediatrics; Dr. David Geenen, associate professor of medicine; Dr. Asrar Malik, professor and head of pharmacology; and Dr. Amelia Bartholomew, associate professor of transplantation.
UIC ranks among the nation's top 50 universities in federal research funding and is Chicago's largest university with 25,000 students, 12,000 faculty and staff, 15 colleges and the state's major public medical center. A hallmark of the campus is the Great Cities Commitment, through which UIC faculty, students and staff engage with community, corporate, foundation and government partners in hundreds of programs to improve the quality of life in metropolitan areas around the world.
RSS