UC Merced Staff Follows Path to Stem Cell Research
Posted on: Tuesday, 4 July 2006, 09:00 CDT
By Corinne Reilly, MERCED SUN-STAR
MERCED -- As the University of California, Merced, prepares for its second academic year, it still operates largely from just three buildings.
Its faculty is one-thirtieth the size of some of its sister campuses, it expects just 77 new graduate students next year and most of its on-campus research labs are not open yet.
But, despite its infancy, UC Merced already has begun to delve into the most promising and controversial frontier in modern science: stem cell research.
Six of the university's 72 faculty members now are studying the cells that already provide treatment for leukemia, and which researchers believe will someday offer therapies for at least 70 major diseases including diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV and AIDS.
"It's fascinating how much potential can be stored in a single cell," said UC Merced professor Jennifer Manilay, whose research aims to better understand the development of blood stem cells.
Even before the university opened, stem cell research emerged as a priority for the campus, UC Merced Dean of Natural Sciences Maria Pallavicini said. And while UC Merced's program is still young, it is growing quickly.
"We knew early on we wanted to develop excellence in the field," Pallavicini said. "And we're already developing a strong core. ... Our faculty is working to answer some very fundamental questions about stem cells."
The central focus of their research aims to reveal more about how primitive stem cells -- which have the ability to mature into nearly any tissue of the body -- decide what specific cell type they will become.
Given its vast implications for regenerative medicine, stem cell research makes sense for the campus, where administrators have just submitted plans to launch a new medical school.
While the practical application of their work is still years away, researchers at UC Merced could contribute to the development of new treatments for blood cancer, immune system diseases, and disorders of the heart, liver, pancreas and kidneys.
Pallavicini, who has been experimenting with stem cells for more than 20 years, is working with two graduate students to understand how embryonic stem cells are triggered to become bone marrow cells.
Manilay is studying how
T-cells, an important component of the immune system, develop from blood stem cells.
If researchers are able to understand what makes a stem cell become a T-cell, Manilay said, they may be able to create new healthy cells in patients with immune deficiencies.
Professor Marcos Garcia-Ojeda, who also is studying blood stem cells, says that could benefit HIV and AIDS patients.
Nationally, stem cell research has been stymied by President Bush's decision in 2001 to ban the use of federal funding for research on new stem cell lines from human embryos.
A bill that would lift the ban passed in the House of Representatives in 2005; it is scheduled for a vote in the Senate later this month.
"The ban has created unbelievable obstacles for stem cell research in this country," said Susan DeLaurentis, chief executive officer of the Alliance for Stem Cell Research in Los Angeles, who was careful to point out that most research cells come from fertility clinic leftovers that would otherwise be thrown away.
Because many university labs receive federal research funding, some schools -- including UC San Francisco -- are building brand- new research facilities with private funding despite adequate existing labs, just so they can legally perform research on new stem cell lines.
UC Merced has avoided the controversy so far by limiting its research to embryonic stem cells derived from mice, though Pallavicini said the university will likely use human cells in the future.
"We're just not at that point right now," she said.
When UC Merced does reach that point, it will not shy away, university spokeswoman Ana Shaw said.
"The university has a responsibility to pursue scientific knowledge that will benefit society, and we'll always operate under the law and by ethical scientific conventions," Shaw said.
All of UC's 10 campuses are now conducting stem cell research.
(c) 2006 Oakland Tribune.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/559000/uc_merced_staff_follows_path_to_stem_cell_research/index.html?source=r_health
By Corinne Reilly, MERCED SUN-STAR
MERCED -- As the University of California, Merced, prepares for its second academic year, it still operates largely from just three buildings.
Its faculty is one-thirtieth the size of some of its sister campuses, it expects just 77 new graduate students next year and most of its on-campus research labs are not open yet.
But, despite its infancy, UC Merced already has begun to delve into the most promising and controversial frontier in modern science: stem cell research.
Six of the university's 72 faculty members now are studying the cells that already provide treatment for leukemia, and which researchers believe will someday offer therapies for at least 70 major diseases including diabetes, Parkinson's, Alzheimer's, cancer, multiple sclerosis, HIV and AIDS.
"It's fascinating how much potential can be stored in a single cell," said UC Merced professor Jennifer Manilay, whose research aims to better understand the development of blood stem cells.
Even before the university opened, stem cell research emerged as a priority for the campus, UC Merced Dean of Natural Sciences Maria Pallavicini said. And while UC Merced's program is still young, it is growing quickly.
"We knew early on we wanted to develop excellence in the field," Pallavicini said. "And we're already developing a strong core. ... Our faculty is working to answer some very fundamental questions about stem cells."
The central focus of their research aims to reveal more about how primitive stem cells -- which have the ability to mature into nearly any tissue of the body -- decide what specific cell type they will become.
Given its vast implications for regenerative medicine, stem cell research makes sense for the campus, where administrators have just submitted plans to launch a new medical school.
While the practical application of their work is still years away, researchers at UC Merced could contribute to the development of new treatments for blood cancer, immune system diseases, and disorders of the heart, liver, pancreas and kidneys.
Pallavicini, who has been experimenting with stem cells for more than 20 years, is working with two graduate students to understand how embryonic stem cells are triggered to become bone marrow cells.
Manilay is studying how
T-cells, an important component of the immune system, develop from blood stem cells.
If researchers are able to understand what makes a stem cell become a T-cell, Manilay said, they may be able to create new healthy cells in patients with immune deficiencies.
Professor Marcos Garcia-Ojeda, who also is studying blood stem cells, says that could benefit HIV and AIDS patients.
Nationally, stem cell research has been stymied by President Bush's decision in 2001 to ban the use of federal funding for research on new stem cell lines from human embryos.
A bill that would lift the ban passed in the House of Representatives in 2005; it is scheduled for a vote in the Senate later this month.
"The ban has created unbelievable obstacles for stem cell research in this country," said Susan DeLaurentis, chief executive officer of the Alliance for Stem Cell Research in Los Angeles, who was careful to point out that most research cells come from fertility clinic leftovers that would otherwise be thrown away.
Because many university labs receive federal research funding, some schools -- including UC San Francisco -- are building brand- new research facilities with private funding despite adequate existing labs, just so they can legally perform research on new stem cell lines.
UC Merced has avoided the controversy so far by limiting its research to embryonic stem cells derived from mice, though Pallavicini said the university will likely use human cells in the future.
"We're just not at that point right now," she said.
When UC Merced does reach that point, it will not shy away, university spokeswoman Ana Shaw said.
"The university has a responsibility to pursue scientific knowledge that will benefit society, and we'll always operate under the law and by ethical scientific conventions," Shaw said.
All of UC's 10 campuses are now conducting stem cell research.
(c) 2006 Oakland Tribune.
http://www.redorbit.com/news/health/559000/uc_merced_staff_follows_path_to_stem_cell_research/index.html?source=r_health
posted by Bill at 12:54 AM
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