NHLBI funds multi-year, multimillion dollar project to focus on stem and progenitor cell tools and treatments
Scientists at the Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease (GICD) and Stanford University School of Medicine will collaborate in a new consortium funded by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) to develop stem cell and regenerative medicine therapies. GICD investigators, led by GICD Director Deepak Srivastava, MD, will collaborate with a Stanford team led by Robert Robbins, MD, professor and chair of cardiothoracic surgery, to investigate how to use induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPS cells, to repair damaged heart muscle.
"This is an exciting opportunity to work with the most talented investigators in the field to accelerate the application of this promising technology to real patient benefits," said Srivastava. Each research team will receive approximately $10 million dollars over 7 years as part of the larger NHLBI Progenitor Cell Biology Consortium, which will bring together researchers from the heart, lung, blood, and technology research fields.
"NHLBI is committed to stimulating stem cell research that will lead to the development of regenerative therapies for the treatment of heart, lung and blood diseases," said NHLBI director Elizabeth Nabel, MD, in a press release. "Important gaps remain in our understanding of stem and progenitor cells, and this consortium holds great promise to expand our knowledge and uncover therapeutic applications of great public impact."
iPS cells result from the "reprogramming" of adult cells into a cell closely resembling an embryonic stem cell. Like stem cells, they can develop into any cell type in the body. This exciting technology was developed by Gladstone investigator Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD. the 2009 Lasker Award Recipient for Biomedical Research.
The 17 multidisciplinary teams are organized into nine thematic research hubs. The research will be coordinated and administrated out of the University of Maryland-Baltimore.