Research

The purpose of the Penn Institute for Regenerative Medicine (IRM) is to foster an interactive environment within the Penn community to promote excellence in both basic and translational research into stem cell and regenerative biology.  The IRM will also promote translational therapies and relevant clinical trials to enhance regeneration to treat serious disease.  Recent studies have revealed that many if not most cells may have far more plasticity to be reprogrammed into other cell lineages.  However, the basic mechanisms by which this occurs and is regulated are still unclear.  An important focus in the IRM will be on what pathways are required for proper differentiation and self-renewal of both tissue specific and pluripotential stem cells.  A better understanding of the underlying mechanisms that drive stem cell differentiation and the regenerative process may lead to important new therapies for degenerative diseases including Parkinson's, diabetes, and heart failure.

Understanding how to control and promote stem/progenitor cell differentiation is only the first step in harnessing the power of these cells for reparative medical therapies.  Tissue engineering is a critical aspect of using stem/progenitor cell biology for tissue and organ regeneration.  The IRM has a strong interest in defining the important biological niches required for stem/progenitor biology and also the mechanical requirements for proper tissue and organ regeneration.  Coupled with the knowledge of the basic pathways that drive stem/progenitor differentiation and self-renewal, tissue engineering may help to reveal the future promises of stem/progenitor biology by providing the critical three-dimensional architecture necessary for organ culture and replacement.

IRM Supports New Research

Penn offers a unique opportunity to translate discovery into therapy due to its proximity to various schools and their faulty. To further promote this research, the IRM recently provided three pilot awards in regenerative medicine.

• Zebrafish as a model system for neuron-regenerative medicine
  Aaron D. Gitler, Ph.D. and Michael Granato, Ph.D.

This pilot proposal brings together two teams of investigators to tackle an unexplored area of regenerative medicine: the cell biological and potential molecular connections between injury induced nerve de/regeneration and neurodegeneration.

• Tracking facultative stem cells in the liver
  Linda Greenbaum, Ph.D. and Klaus Kaestner, Ph.D.

In preliminary data a gene-specific Cre transgene is activated following liver injury and contributes to both the mature hepatocyte as well as cholangiocyte lineages. This team will investigate multiple paradigms of liver injury to determine if activation of this putative stem cell lineage gene is a common theme in recovery and will set the stage for eventual isolation of the bipotential stem cells from the human liver.

• Regulatory mechanisms in hematopoietic stem cell function and regeneration
  Peter Klein, Ph.D. and Wei Tong, Ph.D.

The overall goal of this collaborative pilot project is to examine the respective contributions of Wnt and Jak/Stat signaling in the response to GSK3 inhibitors and to define the role of GSK3 in regulating these pathways within the hematopoietic system.

Another call for pilot project applications will be coming soon. If you would like to be notified, please email the IRM and request to be added to the Pilot Project RFA notification list.

 

Internship Opportunities

2008-2009 Center of Excellence Research Internship. See flyer or apply now!