Contact Information Available for logged-in reporters only Newswise Scientists from UCLAs Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research are bringing stem cell science funded by the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state stem cell agency, directly to patients in two exciting new clinical trials scheduled to begin in early 2014. The recipients of the Disease Team Therapy Development III awards were Dr. Dennis Slamon and Dr. Zev Wainberg, whose phase I clinical trial will test a new drug that targets cancer stem cells and has been approved to begin enrolling patients in the US and Canada, and Dr. Donald Kohn, whose first-in-human trial is on stem cell gene therapy for sickle cell disease (SCD). The announcement of the new awards came on December 12, 2013 at the meeting of the CIRM Independent Citizens Oversight Committee (ICOC) at the Luxe Hotel in Los Angeles. Dr. Owen Witte, Director of the UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center, highlighted that the The CIRM support demonstrates that our multidisciplinary Center is at the forefront of translating basic scientific research to new drug and cellular therapies that will revolutionize medicine. Targeting solid tumor stem cells The Disease Team … Continue reading →

Faculty, Graduate Program Associate Professor of Surgery, Department of Surgery, Tulane University Medical School Mesenchymal stem cells resident in adult bone marrow are characterized by their capacity to generate connective tissues, such as bone, cartilage, and adipose, as well as sustain hematopoiesis and other bone marrow functions via secretion of a large array of cytokines, adhesion molecules, and trophic factors. Research in our laboratory is focused on delineating the molecular and functional complexity inherent to MSC biology and using information gleaned from such studies to develop optimized cellular vectors for treating chronic inflammatory and neuro-degenerative diseases. Currently our focus in the lab is on deciphering the molecular signaling pathways that maintain MSCs in an undifferentiated state, regulate expression of anti-inflammatory proteins, and modulate engraftment and migration of MSCs within the central nervous system. Advances derived from basic scientific investigation are incorporated into design and optimization of cellular vectors to treat inflammatory lung disease and neurodegenerative disorders in both rodent and non-human primate models. Ph.D., Biochemistry, Temple University School of Medicine, 1990 B.A., Chemistry, Mathematics, The University of Vermont, 1984 Consultant, KM Pharmaceutical Consulting LLC (2008-2009) Lead Reviewer Award, Stem Cells (2006) Planning committee, International Society of Stem Cell Research (2002-2005) … Continue reading →

Researchers in Sweden have successfully grown functioning neural tissues in lab, which has opened up significant new possibilities in medical science including new ways of treating cases of brain damage. Scientists have already developed sophisticated techniques to grow tissues of other visceral organs such as kidney, liver, trachea, lymph nodes, and veins, and have even performed tissue transplantations in body for organ regeneration. However, growing neural tissues in the lab is itself tricky as neurons are the most complex cells in our body, and imitating the functional biology of brain has been the most challenging task for scientists trying to unlock the mysteries of human body. Neural tissues have been grown before in labs, but there is still a long way to go before researchers can achieve in vivo nerve regeneration and differentiation. But Paolo Macchiarini and Silvia Baiguera at the Karolinska Institute in Stockholm may have identified a way forward. Organic tissue is grown in a scaffold which replicates the protein-rich environment of tissues in the body, known as extracellular matrix (ECM). The in vitro scaffold thus provides nutrients and biochemical cues to the embedded stem cells to help them grow into differentiated cells. The researchers contrived a gelatin … Continue reading →

PUBLIC RELEASE DATE: 12-Dec-2013 Contact: Shaun Mason smason@mednet.ucla.edu 310-206-2805 University of California - Los Angeles Stem cell researchers from UCLA have published the first study to identify the origin cells and track the early development of human articular cartilage, providing what could be a new cell source and biological roadmap for therapies to repair cartilage defects and damage from osteoarthritis. Such transformative therapies could reach clinical trials within three years, said the scientists from UCLA's Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research. The study, led by Dr. Denis Evseenko, an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery and head of UCLA's Laboratory of Connective Tissue Regeneration, was published online Dec. 12 in the journal Stem Cell Reports and will appear in a forthcoming print edition. Articular cartilage, a highly specialized tissue formed from cells called chondrocytes, protects the bones of joints from forces associated with load-bearing and impact and allows nearly frictionless motion between the articular surfaces the areas where bone connects with other bones in a joint. Cartilage injury and a lack of cartilage regeneration often lead to osteoarthritis, which involves the degradation of joints, including cartilage and bone. Osteoarthritis currently affects more than 20 million … Continue reading →

Stem cell researchers from UCLA have published the first study to identify the origin cells and track the early development of human articular cartilage, providing what could be a new cell source and biological roadmap for therapies to repair cartilage defects and damage from osteoarthritis. Such transformative therapies could reach clinical trials within three years, said the scientists from UCLA's Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research. The study, led by Dr. Denis Evseenko, an assistant professor of orthopedic surgery and head of UCLA's Laboratory of Connective Tissue Regeneration, was published online Dec. 12 in the journal Stem Cell Reports and will appear in a forthcoming print edition. Articular cartilage, a highly specialized tissue formed from cells called chondrocytes, protects the bones of joints from forces associated with load-bearing and impact and allows nearly frictionless motion between the articular surfaces - the areas where bone connects with other bones in a joint. Cartilage injury and a lack of cartilage regeneration often lead to osteoarthritis, which involves the degradation of joints, including cartilage and bone. Osteoarthritis currently affects more than 20 million people in the U.S., making joint-surface restoration a major priority in modern medicine. While … Continue reading →