Overview
Regenerating injured tissues and organs might sound like science fiction. But as we gain a greater understanding of how stem cells in our body change from their undifferentiated states to become specialized tissues, UCSF's program in regeneration medicine is at the threshold of developing cell-based approaches and therapies for various diseases that result from tissue injury or degeneration.
The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF combines the talents of molecular biologists, developmental and cell biologists, neurobiologists, immunologists and cancer researchers. Their efforts, organized around research areas, are aimed at gaining a better understanding of how defined types of tissues develop, and are directed toward cell-based approaches to the treatment of disease. These insights will shape and direct potential therapies, which will be tested and refined in UCSF-based clinical trials.
The Center's organization is designed to foster collaborations derived from work on different organs and tissue systems. Accordingly, the laboratories and research efforts are organized along a series of pipelines, each focusing on a particular tissue or organ system, and including basic research as well as translational research directed toward clinical applications. A basic researcher and a clinician direct each pipeline.
Seven different pipelines, based on extensive research and clinical strength, have been developed:
- Hematopoiesis
- Musculoskeletal
- Neural
- Cardiovascular
- Pancreas/Diabetes and Liver
- Epithelial
- Reproductive
The Center is also the home of UCSF's Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Center and Program in Craniofacial and Mesenchymal Biology. The Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF is supervised by Dr. Arnold Kriegstein, Director, and Dr. Rik Derynck, Co-Director.
