Frontiers in Stem Cells and Regeneration Course

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Project Summary: Pluripotent stem cell biology and regenerative medicine are rapidly growing fields with enormous biomedical implications across the entire spectrum of NIH’s clinical, translational, biomedical and behavioral portfolios. This R25 application seeks five years of sponsorship for our advanced training course entitled: Frontiers in Stem Cells and Regeneration (FrSCR) held annually at the MBL in Woods Hole under the Co-Directorship of Drs. Jennifer Morgan (MBL) and Ina Dobrinski (University of Calgary). FrSCR has been funded for the past five years as a new R25 award, and prior to that under U13 and T15 mechanisms. FrSCR continues to build on its demonstrated strengths and successes, and continues to expand to incorporate emerging, important biomedical concepts and sophisticated technological breakthroughs in regeneration and pluripotency. The FrSCR course introduces participating trainees to state-of-the-art research in the fields of pluripotent stem cell (PSC) biology and regenerative medicine, including biology and applications of multipotent adult stem cells (ASC). We provide trainees the necessary knowledge of laboratory techniques, career mentoring and instruction in the ethical, legal, and societal impact (ELSI) of PSC research to greatly enhance their successful entry into this field. In order to achieve this goal, we propose the following specific aims: 1) to provide in-depth instruction on the fundamental concepts in stem cell biology and regeneration; 2) to provide hands-on laboratory training in cutting-edge methods for experimentation with stem cells and regeneration; 3) to educate trainees on the open questions in the field, and how stem cells and regenerative biology can be used to solve problems related to human developmental, reproductive, aging, and neurological disorders, among others; 4) to provide opportunities for career planning and advancement, and to educate trainees on the legal, ethical, and regulatory landscape in which regenerative medicine research occurs, and 5) to foster a diverse, collegial environment, and to provide students with networking opportunities that lead to long-term interactions, mentorship, and collaborations. FrSCR is a dynamic and evolving entity that each year offers a fresh series of daily lectures on emerging concepts, followed by extended discussions, laboratory research, technologically intense workshops and informal seminars over a week-long period. The course is directed towards established investigators as well as advanced fellows and newly independent scientists who are committed to fundamental, translational or clinical research studies. The course addresses major current problems, followed by critical discussions and laboratory experiments in which advanced new techniques are presented to explore these problems. Thus, this course will provide a significant benefit to biomedical research through the training of new investigators in the field of stem cell biology and regeneration.