New stem cell centre opens

McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine

If you watched the news this week and saw singer Bob Geldof walking around science labs and looking through microscopes with the expression, “Which cell are we looking at??”, then you know about the opening of the McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine this past Wednesday. Even though Sir Geldof didn’t bless us with a performance, I attended the lectures and met some of the scientists, so I can give you some highlights of the scientific research taking place at the McEwen Centre:

1. Cure for blindness underway: Researchers from UT have implanted human retinal stem cells into mouse retina and found successful integration, photoreceptor proliferation, and increased low light visual acuity in the mice.
2. Acute myeloid leukemia can be somewhat controlled by interfering with the migration and adhesion properties of the cancerous stem cells.
3. Clinical trials have begun for new spinal cord injury therapies using inhibitors and biomaterial guidance channels.
4. Bone marrow cells can differentiate into lung epithelia in vivo suggesting future studies to regenerate lung, trachea, and even alveoli.

One of the most interesting comments came from the featured speaker of the day, Dr. George Daley, MD, PhD, Harvard MIT. In his overview and history of global stem cell research, he noted Toronto as a stronghold of stem cell research with world class pioneering work. He went on to vindicate and validate the work of South Korean researcher, Dr. Hwang, a once renowned pioneer in stem cell research who fell from grace after a much publicized scandal of falsified research. Dr. Daley’s group thoroughly analyzed Dr. Hwang’s work and found that the dishonoured scientist may have indeed found the first Parthenogenesis embryonic stem cell.

With their motto “Collaborate. Create. Cure.” and events like the one on Wednesday, it seems the McEwen Centre will further solidify Canada’s global position in stem cell research.

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