About Us
Stem cells can self-replicate for indefinitely long periods, often for an individual’s entire life. They have been used for years in bone marrow transplantation and they hold promise for reparative processes in many organs such as the heart, central nervous system, kidney and pancreas.
Regenerative medicine is term often used to encompass varied approaches to the repair or replacement of aging, damaged or diseased tissues. Investigators believe that this biomedical specialty will be greatly advanced by nanotechnologies and biomaterials that allow scientists to grow organs “from scratch” using the patients own stem cells and other genetic materials.
Tissue engineering is defined as the use of biological or synthetic materials with or without cells to create new tissues or biologic substitutes for tissue. Dr. Charles Vacanti, BWH describes the discipline as “an interdisciplinary field in which the principles of engineering and the life sciences are applied toward the generation of biologic substitutes aimed at the creation, preservation or restoration of lost organ function.”
Under the leadership of Dr. Joseph Bonventre, the BRI Stem Cell, Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering Research Center at Brigham & Women’s Hospital aims to integrate these three specialties, integrating the talents of engineers, physicists and mathematicians with those of biologists and clinicians. In fact, this marriage of stem cell biology with state-of-the-art engineering and nanotechnolgy is what makes this center unique among its competitors.
Our Recent Advances in Research
BWH has assembled a critical mass of scientists to collaboratively build on recent developments in genomics, proteomics, stem cell biology, metabolic engineering, tissue (regenerative) engineering and microsystem fabrication. These scientists make up the core of the Stem Cell, Regenerative Medicine and Tissue Engineering Research Center. Our investigators are involved in innovative studies to enhance prevention of a wide range of disorders, develop and implement novel targeted therapies, and improve existing treatments. Pivotal research advances by BWH investigators which have impacted the understanding of disease and treatment of patients include:
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Growth of cartilage using a polymer base
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Identification of novel way to make patient specific embryonic stem cells using unfertilized eggs in a pre-clinical model, which can then be transplanted back without immune rejection
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Development of a strategy for generating cross-linked hydrogel microstructures (water-soluble, natural polymers) that can be controlled in shape and size for use in drug delivery and tissue engineering
Our Departmental Affiliates
The BRI Stem Cell, Regenerative Medicine, and Tissue Engineering Research Center supports transformative interdisciplinary research, engaging the talent and resources of a diverse group of investigators. Research is conducted by physicians and scientists spanning the departments of Medicine, Anesthesia, Neurology, Pathology, Dermatology, Surgery, and Obstetrics and Gynecology.
Our Investigators
BWH investigators are nationally and internationally recognized for their contributions to advances in stem cell, regenerative medicine and tissue engineering research as recipients of prestigious awards, including elected members of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, the Kuwait Prize for Sciences, the Bywaters Award from the International Society of Nephrology, the James Barrett Brown Award of the American Association of Plastic Surgeons, the Stanley J. Korsmeyer Award of the American Society for Clinical Investigation, and the William Dameshek Prize of the American Society of Hematology. Additionally BWH investigators hold specialized grants to conduct interdisciplinary research, including an NIH U54 research grant called SysCODE: Systems-based Consortium for Organ Design and Engineering.
To Learn More
To learn more about the BRI Stem Cell, Regenerative Medicine, and Tissue Engineering Research Center, email bwhresearch@partners.org.
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