Current Trends in Stem Cell Therapies

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PROJECT SUMMARY/ABSTRACT Stem cell biology has become one of the most exciting scientific areas of investigation. Stem cells are a key to understanding: i) the physiology of tissue rejuvenation, ii) organ regeneration after injury and iii) the regulation of the lifespan. A looming educational challenge is the preparation of young investigators to engage in research on these very important cells in the body. The focus of this training program “Current Trends in Stem Cell Therapies (CTSCT)” Training Program is to understand the role of stem cells in hematology and tissue injury. The training program is derived from the experience of mentoring faculty and the strength of clinical utilization of adult stem cells isolated from postnatal tissues in stem cell processing laboratories employed in the Bone Marrow Transplant Unit, Department of Cardiology, and the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Louisville (UofL). This grant will involve the post-doctoral fellows by engaging them in conceptual laboratory work aimed at the optimization of the: i) isolation of versatile populations of stem cells from adult issues, ii) their ex vivo expansion alone, or in combination with synthetic scaffolds iii) studies on the role of paracrine-related effects of stem cells in regeneration, with special emphasis on extracellular microvesicles (ExMV) and iv) strategies of stem cell delivery to damaged organs including mechanism orchestrating their homing and engraftment. The goals of our training program (CTSCT) will be achieved with a multidisciplinary approach that includes the dedicated faculty from various departments, centers, institutes, and schools. The highly experienced and multidisciplinary faculty at the UofL will provide critical resources and expertise in performing cutting-edge basic and clinical research in this field. This proposal is an innovative postdoctoral training program that will serve as a platform for developing interdisciplinary and integrated approaches that will shed more light on the stem cell compartment under steady-state and pathological conditions. The proposed training program will support five postdoctoral trainees. Two of them will be recruited in year one and then three more in year two to maintain a total of 5 trainees. These may be existing postdoctoral fellows who have matriculated at UofL, or candidates selected by an open recruitment from highly reputed research institutions. This training program will also serve as an important vehicle to integrate the stem cell research performed at UofL. This will be achieved by organizing integrated stem cell-related special courses, seminars, lectures, journal clubs, and open discussions to exchange new ideas among postdoctoral fellows participating in this program and with other students and faculty members at UofL. In addition, the teams of mentors (including both basic and clinical scientists) will promote the importance of multidisciplinary training and the translation of basic science research findings to the community of Kentucky. In summary, our CTSCT training program will effectively facilitate multidisciplinary approaches to studying stem cell biology and is consistent with the NIH Roadmap and the strategic plans of the NHLBI and the overall developmental goals of the UofL.