The current gold standard for treating non-healing bone fractures and diseases is to graft bone from a healthy part of the body. However, in many cases this method is not sufficient, such as the failed bone grafts for movie critic Roger Ebert, who lost his lower jaw from cancer. Dr. Kent Leach, associate professor of biomedical engineering at the UC Davis College of Engineering, is exploring the use of mesenchymal stem cells and biomaterial scaffolds as an alternative strategy for growing new bone. Dr. Leach spoke about his research at the CIRM governing board’s Spotlight on Disease seminar on March 21, 2012 in Sacramento, California.