New research program taps Boston stem cell scientists
Boston researchers will play a leading role in a new federal initiative focusing on stem cell biology and regenerative therapies.
The National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute today announced $170 million in grants over seven years to 18 teams of researchers working in nine hubs across the country. The new NHLBI Progenitor Cell Biology Consortium includes Dr. George Daley of Children's Hospital Boston and Dr. Kenneth Chien and Dr. David Scadden of Massachusetts General Hospital.
Progenitor cells, unlike stem cells that can renew themselves indefinitely, can divide only a limited number of times and can become only certain kinds of cells. The hope is that stem and progenitor cells can be harnessed to grow new cells that could replace or repair cells damaged by heart, lung, and blood diseases.
Daley and Chien will head the hub studying ways to use induced pluripotent stem cells in regenerative therapy for heart and blood disorders.
Scadden and Dr. Jay Schneider of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center in Dallas will lead efforts studying progenitor cell types in the heart and lung and exploring how the microenvironment within the heart, lung, and bone marrow determines what progenitor cells do.
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Elizabeth Cooney is a former
health reporter for the Worcester Telegram & Gazette, where she also was a
business reporter and an editor. Earlier in her career, she edited medical
books and journals at Little, Brown, and worked for Boston magazine.Boston Globe Health and Science staff:
- Gideon Gil, Health and Science Editor
- Ishani Ganguli, Short White Coat blogger
