Project Objective: Proof of Concept
Systemic Adult Stem Cell Therapy for Osteoporosis-Related Vertebral Compression Fractures
Vertebral compression fractures are the most common fractures associated with osteoporosis. Approximately 700,000 osteoporosis-related vertebral compression fractures (OVCFs) occur each year in the US. Currently, treatment is focused primarily on prevention. When fractures occur in patients with osteoporosis, treatment options are limited because open surgery with implants often fails. Recently, new therapies involving injection of […]
Repair of Conus Medullaris/Cauda Equina Injury using Human ES Cell-Derived Motor Neurons
Injuries to the spinal cord commonly result from motor vehicle accidents, traumatic falls, diving, surfing, skiing, and snowboarding accidents, other forms of sports injuries, as well as from gunshot injuries in victims of violent crimes. Injuries to the anatomically lowest part of the spinal cord, the lumbosacral portion and its associated nerve roots commonly cause […]
Repair of Conus Medullaris/Cauda Equina Injury using Human ES Cell-Derived Motor Neurons
Injuries to the spinal cord commonly result from motor vehicle accidents, traumatic falls, diving, surfing, skiing, and snowboarding accidents, other forms of sports injuries, as well as from gunshot injuries in victims of violent crimes. Injuries to the anatomically lowest part of the spinal cord, the lumbosacral portion and its associated nerve roots commonly cause […]
Developing a therapeutic candidate for Canavan disease using induced pluripotent stem cell
Canavan disease is a devastating disease of infants which affects their neural development and leads to mental retardation and early death. It occurs in 1 in 6,400 persons in the U.S. and there is no treatment so far. We propose to generate genetically-repaired and patient-specific stem cells (called iPSCs) from patients’ skin cells, and then […]
Crosstalk: Inflammation in Parkinson’s disease (PD) in a humanized in vitro model
Parkinson’s Disease (PD) is the most common neurodegenerative movement disorder. It is characterized by motor impairment such as slowness of movements, shaking and gait disturbances. Age is the most consistent risk factor for PD, and as we have an aging population, it is of upmost importance that we find therapies to limit the social, economic […]
Developing a drug-screening system for Autism Spectrum Disorders using human neurons
Autism and autism spectrum disorders (ASD) are complex neurodevelopmental diseases that affect 1 in 150 children in the United States. Such diseases are mainly characterized by deficits in verbal communication, impaired social interaction, and limited and repetitive interests and behavior. Because autism is a complex spectrum of disorders, a different combination of genetic mutations is […]
Engineering microscale tissue constructs from human pluripotent stem cells
Tissues derived from stem cells can serve multiple purposes to enhance biomedical therapies. Human tissues engineered from stem cells hold tremendous potential to serve as better substrates for the discovery and development of new drugs, accurately model development or disease progression, and one day ultimately be used directly to repair, restore and replace traumatically injured […]
Niche-Focused Research: Discovery & Development of Hematopoietic Regenerative Factors
Bone marrow and peripheral blood transplantation utilizing blood stem cells can provide curative treatment for patients with cancers and non-cancerous diseases of the blood and immune systems. Such treatments can be curative because the stem cells contained within the bone marrow or peripheral blood of healthy donors are capable of replacing the entirety of the […]
Development of Cellular Therapies for Retinal Disease
The long term goal of our research program is regeneration of the diseased eye. Age-related macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy, and retinitis pigmentosa are leading causes of blindness for which there are no effective treatments for the majority of cases. Loss of vision is due to progressive degeneration of the photoreceptor cells, or loss of cells […]
Combinatorial Chemistry Approaches to Develop LIgands against Leukemia Stem Cells
Various cells and organs in the human body originate from a small group of primitive cells called stem cells. Human cancer cells were also recently found to arise from a group of special stem cells, called cancer stem cells (CSCs). At present, cancer that has spread throughout the body (metastasized) is difficult to treat, and […]