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Stem Cell Scientists First To Be Awarded Victoria-California Collaborative Grants To Drive Stem Cell Research Forwards

Victorian stem cell scientists from the Australian Stem Cell Centre, Monash University and the Florey Neuroscience Institutes are the first recipients of collaborative grants under the Victoria-California Stem Cell Alliance. Four collaborative stem cell projects involving researchers from the Australian Stem Cell Centre, Monash University and the Florey Neuroscience Institutes are the first to be funded under the International Alliance between the State of Victoria and the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). The projects were announced late last night (AEST) by Victoria"s Minister for Innovation, Gavin Jennings at BIO2009 in Atlanta, Georgia. The Victorian collaborators represent some of the best stem cell scientists in the world. Their research focus varies from studying the immune system in conjunction with stem cells to prevent rejection, to harnessing the abilities of human embryonic stem cells and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) and their potential for growth and differentiation into all the cells of the body. The successful projects were submitted to the CIRM Early Translational Research Awards that are designed to move promising basic research in stem cell science toward the clinic for eventual patient benefit. A total of 72 applications were received at CIRM, with a total of 15 selected to receive funding at this time, of which four are Victorian collaborative projects. The four successful projects are: Methods for detection and elimination of residual human embryonic stem cells in a differentiated cell product. Andrew Elefanty and Ed Stanley, Monash University and Novocell Inc. Neural Stem Cells as a Developmental Candidate to Treat Alzheimer"s Disease. Richard Boyd, Australian Stem Cell Centre and Monash University and University of California, Irvine Ensuring the safety of cell therapy: a quality control pipeline for cell purification and validation. Andrew Laslett, Australian Stem Cell Centre and Scripps Research Institute Developmental Candidates" for Cell-Based Therapies for Parkinson"s Disease. Clare Parish and Colin Pouton, Florey Neuroscience Institutes and Monash University and Burnham Institute for Medical Research QUOTES: "Considered in combination, these projects will accelerate the application of stem cell science to treating illnesses in patients, by addressing current safety issues and other hurdles to giving stem cells or their products to sick people and understanding the immune response to stem cell treatments." said Professor Graham Macdonald, Chair of the Australian Stem Cell Centre. He added "in addition, the projects stand to add to our understanding of the body"s mechanisms for directing tissue development from stem cells and how stem cells themselves control the activities of surrounding cells. This will in turn lead us to new mechanisms for understanding and treating disease." "Monash is an internationally focused university that supports intricate research programs on the most pressing biomedical issues. These exciting joint projects with California are a triumph of collaboration between the brightest experts in the world that will help to tackle a range of debilitating illnesses," said the University"s Deputy Vice Chancellor (Research), Professor Edwina Cornish. "These projects bring together scientists who each have a special expertise within stem cell research and focuses on collaboration where each step undertaken fits together like a jigsaw puzzle. It will bring basic science much closer to treatments for debilitating neurological disorders," said Professor Malcolm Horne, Deputy Director, Florey Neuroscience Institutes. About the Projects Neural Stem Cells as a Developmental Candidate to Treat Alzheimer Disease Australian Stem Cell Centre, Melbourne and the University of California, Irvine Professor Richard Boyd (Australia) and Frank LaFerla (California) will lead the project. This project aims to determine whether neural stem cells can be translated from the bench to the clinic as a therapy for Alzheimer "s disease. Alzheimer"s is a progressive neurodegenerative disorder that affects over 4.5 million Americans and over 500,000 Australians. There are currently no effective therapies for the treatment of Alzheimer"s. Existing treatments provide minor symptomatic relief but these are often associated with severe side effects. Multiple strategies are likely to be needed to prevent or treat Alzheimer"s disease, including the utilisation of cell-based approaches. This project builds on extensive preliminary data that support the feasibility of neural stem cell-based therapies for the treatment of Alzheimer"s disease. The project leaders will use human embryonic stem cells that are transformed into human neural stem cells, and then will test their ability to improve cognitive recognition function in an animal model of Alzheimer"s disease in the laboratory. However, a challenge in successfully treating patients with these therapeutic cells is the very high likelihood that they will be rejected by the patient"s immune system. The multi-disciplinary team of scientific leaders from the fields of stem cell biology, animal modelling, neurodegeneration, immunology, genomics and Alzheimer"s disease clinical trials will collaborate on this early translational study, aiming to develop a novel treatment for Alzheimer"s disease. The Victorian component, led by Professor Richard Boyd, will apply their technologies for re-educating the immune system to develop novel strategies for ensuring long-term acceptance of the stem cells transplants, without the need for prolonged usage of immunosuppressive drugs. About Professor Richard Boyd Professor Richard Boyd is the Director of Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories, where he leads a laboratory of approximately 25 people. He is also Chief Scientific Officer of UK AIM-listed biotechnology company Norwood Immunology, who have supported the translation of his research to clinical trials in Australia and the US. Professor Boyd"s research has focused on the formation and growth of the immune system and his group were the first to grow an organ from stem cells. They identified epithelial stem cells in the embryonic mouse, which could form a thymus after transplantation. His laboratory established an internationally recognised leadership position in understanding the nature and function of the thymic microenvironment. Recently they have developed technologies for reversing the age-associated degeneration of the immune system, particularly the thymus, including making haematopoietic stem cell transplantation more efficient. Professor Boyd has published over 200 papers and for over 25 years has had a major role in educating undergraduate and postgraduate students (he has supervised over 65 Bachelor of Science Honours candidates and 32 Doctor of Philosophy candidates) at Monash University. He has also given many public lectures on immunology and stem cells, and over 500 scientific presentations at national and international conferences, and at research institutes. In 2004, the collaboration between Professor Boyd"s laboratory and Norwood Immunology was awarded an Australian Government Business / Higher Education Round Table award for outstanding achievement in research and development, and education and training. Professor Boyd"s research is partially supported by the Australian Stem Cell Centre. Ensuring the safety of cell therapy: a quality control pipeline for cell purification and validation Australian Stem Cell Centre, Melbourne and the Scripps Research Institute, La Jolla The project will be led by Dr Andrew Laslett (Australia) and Dr Jeanne Loring (California). Human embryonic stem cells have great potential in cell-based therapies due to their pluripotent nature (they can become any desired human cell type). To achieve this potential, more precise information regarding their safety, stability and controlled differentiation (changing into various cell types) is required. Demonstration of safety in a cell-based therapy Phase I clinical trial is a critical stage in advancing new effective treatments for patients. The project focuses on the design of a quality control pipeline that will vastly improve the ability of scientists and clinicians to identify and remove cells that are likely to become toxic or cancerous prior to transplantation. This collaboration will develop products, tools and quality control measures, including methods to identify and remove unwanted cells from mixed cell populations. This project addresses safety concerns about pluripotent stem cell therapies expressed by the US regulator (the Food and Drug Administration), specifically the possibility that contamination of cell populations by rare undifferentiated human embryonic stem cells may lead to unregulated growth and to tumour formation. Through the development of robust protocols for the detection and removal of unwanted cells, this major barrier to the utilisation of human embryonic stem cell in the clinic can be overcome. The head of the Victorian component, Dr Andrew Laslett, will lead the cell purification studies and work closely with the Monash Antibody Technologies Facility, which will produce the bulk of the antibodies for the project. About Dr Andrew Laslett In August 2006 Dr Andrew Laslett was appointed as a Senior Scientist and Group Leader of the Human Embryonic Stem Cell Technology Laboratory at the ASCC. Dr Laslett is also an Honorary Senior Lecturer in the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology at Monash University. Prior to joining the ASCC, he was a Senior Research Fellow in the Laboratory of Embryonic Stem Cell Biology, Centre for Reproduction and Development, Monash Institute of Medical Research, Monash University. Dr Laslett obtained his BSc (Hons) and PhD from Monash University prior to undertaking postdoctoral positions in Hong Kong and Philadelphia, USA. His previous

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