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UC Davis experts: Experts on stem cellsWith its broad range of expertise in biology, agricultural sciences, medicine and veterinary medicine, UC Davis has built a strong foundation in stem cell research. The following faculty members are available for comment on different aspects of this area of research. School of Medicine
School of Veterinary Medicine, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Division of Biological Sciences
School of MedicineTo contact experts at the UC Davis School of Medicine, please call Charles Casey, Health System Public Affairs, (916) 734-9048, charles.casey@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu. Bioethical considerationsStem cell research is not without ethical considerations and concerns. Ben Rich, an associate professor of bioethics, has been following the debate and can offer insight and comments on the difficult issues surrounding the use of human embryonic stem cells. California Institute for Regenerative MedicineClaire Pomeroy, vice chancellor for human health sciences and dean of the School of Medicine, is a member of the state's Independent Citizen's Oversight Committee. The committee has the task of overseeing California's stem cell research program and reviewing grant proposals for those scientific studies. Pomeroy, an infectious disease expert who has been on the committee since its inception, has a profound sense of the medical and policy considerations involved in the voter-approved effort to provide $3 billion in support of new stem cell investigations over the next 10 years. Therapy for congenital childhood diseasesAlice Tarantal, professor of pediatrics at the School of Medicine, is director of the Center for Fetal Gene Transfer for Heart, Lung, and Blood Diseases, supported by the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute. She studies the use of embryonic, fetal, and infant stem and progenitor cells for transplantation and tissue repair. One area of study is to compare and contrast the use of these different cell types for regenerating tissues, and to understand age-related differences, particularly when compared to adults. Other goals include genetically engineering cells to differentiate toward specific cell types for transplantation, and to develop imaging techniques for tracking transplanted cells in the body. These studies will provide essential information for the future treatment of children with a variety of congenital illnesses such as sickle cell disease, cystic fibrosis and those that alter the developing cardiovascular system. New corneas from corneal stem cellsUC Davis ophthalmology professor Ivan Schwab and dermatology professor Rivkah Isseroff have restored or improved eyesight in several patients suffering from severe corneal surface damage using a new technique in which replacement corneal epithelial tissue is grown from corneal stem cells in a laboratory dish. The approach offers a supplement to traditional corneal transplants in cases where such transplants would otherwise fail. While only a few thousand individuals in the United States suffer diseases or injuries each year that cause devastating cornea damage leading to vision loss, the approach could be applied to repair other mucous membranes throughout the body, such as the lining of the mouth, lungs, intestines and bladder, and ultimately to design replacement organs in the lab. Translational stem cell researchWhat is the potential for human embryonic stem cells to be used to improve therapies and, possibly, produce cures for some diseases? Success at the patient level can require bringing together a variety of research strands for a unified goal. UC Davis internal medicine professor Fred Meyers co-chairs the university's advisory committee on stem cells and helps coordinate our new Center for Regenerative Science and Therapies. Colleagues Ralph Green, chair of the department of pathology, and Kent Erickson, chair of the department of cell biology and human anatomy, can also provide a larger context for explaining both the complexities of stem cell science and its ultimate applications at the human level. Treating liver diseaseMark Zern, professor of internal medicine and director of transplant research in the School of Medicine, is working to find ways to use stem cells to treat liver disease. One project involves coaxing embryonic stem cells from monkeys to turn into liver cells, and then use them in liver-cell transplantation or in the development of bioartificial organs in animal studies. Another project involves attempting to convert existing human embryonic stem cells into liver cells, which could be injected into a patient's bloodstream, where they would go to the liver and replace diseased cells. Liver disease is among the 10 major causes of death in the United States. Currently, there are more than 80,000 children and adults awaiting liver transplants, and this number increases each year. School of Veterinary Medicine, College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences, Division of Biological SciencesFor general queries and information, please call Andy Fell, News Service, (530) 752-4533, ahfell@ucdavis.edu. Controlling stem cell growthJames Angelastro, assistant professor in the School of Veterinary Medicine, is investigating growth factors that control the differentiation of stem cells into nerve cells and other brain tissue. These factors might be used to grow large numbers of stem cells in a laboratory, and then trigger them to develop into nerve cells that could be used to repair a damaged brain. Angelastro's initial research is focused on reversing the damage caused by strokes, which debilitate or cause death in 700,000 Americans every year. Contact: James Angelastro, School of Veterinary Medicine, (530) 752-1591, jmangelastro@ucdavis.edu. Laboratory mice and stem cellsWhile California's Proposition 71 focuses on human embryonic stem cells, much basic research has been and will be pursued in laboratory animals, especially mice. The Mouse Biology Program at UC Davis, headed by Stephen Barthold, professor and director of the Center for Comparative Medicine, carries out research in mouse biology and provides services to researchers at UC Davis and elsewhere, including the creation of mouse embryonic stem cell lines and mice with specific genetic changes. The program hosts the Mutant Mouse Regional Resource Center (MMRRC) at UC Davis, headed by Kent Lloyd, professor and associate dean for research at the School of Veterinary Medicine. The MMRRC is part of an NIH-supported group of centers that act as library collections for gene-targeted mice created by scientists, and it makes both the mice, and the stem cells used to create them, available to non-commercial researchers. The MMRRC could be a model for a similar repository for human embryonic stem cells. Contacts: Stephen Barthold, Center for Comparative Medicine, (530) 752-1245, swbarthold@ucdavis.edu; Kent Lloyd, Center for Comparative Medicine, (530) 752-5490, kclloyd@ucdavis.edu. Muscle stem cellsIn the UC Davis Exercise Biology Program, Espen Spangenburg, assistant professor, and Sue Bodine, professor of exercise science, both study the role of "satellite cells" in muscle fibers. Making up about one percent of cell nuclei in striated muscle, these are stem cells that have the property to become bone, fat or muscle. They seem to be important in recovery of muscle from damage due either to exercise or to diseases such as muscular dystrophy. Spangenburg is studying how the surrounding tissue environment affects these cells in aging, for example, and the signals needed for them to develop into other tissues. Bodine studies how these cells are involved in growth and atrophy of muscles. Contacts: Espen E. Spangenburg, Exercise Science, (530) 752-0642, eespangenburg@ucdavis.edu; Sue Bodine, Exercise Science, (530) 752-0964, scbodine@ucdavis.edu. Practical preservation of therapeutic stem cellsIf therapies based on stem cells are to become a practical reality, the cells will need to be easy to store, transport and preserve. Ann Oliver, a researcher at the Center for Biostabilization at UC Davis, is developing methods to dehydrate stem cells obtained from adult bone marrow. These cells have the potential to produce bone, cartilage, muscle, fat and possibly other tissues such as nerves. By loading the cells with trehalose, a sugar found in animals and plants that naturally resist extreme drying, Oliver's team has been able to dramatically reduce the water content of the stem cells and then successfully rehydrate them to produce live, active cells. The Center for Biostabilization, headed by Professors John Crowe and Fern Tablin, studies methods for long-term preservation of living tissues and cells. Contact: Ann Oliver, Center for Biostabilization, (530) 297-4693, aeoliver@ucdavis.edu. Stem cell research in farm animalsGary Anderson is a professor and chair of the animal science department. In 1997 his lab became the first group of researchers to isolate embryonic germ cells in pigs, resulting in a patent now held by the University of California. The embryonic germ cell lines isolated by Anderson's lab were proven to have the ability to produce many different types of cells of an organism. Anderson's studies are among the few that have demonstrated the development of embryonic stem cells or embryonic germ cells in a species other than the mouse. This is important because human stem cell research requires the use of model animal systems, and the pig, in some ways, may better represent human systems than does the mouse. Anderson can discuss basic research related to stem cell research. Contact: Gary Anderson, Animal Science, (530) 752-1252, gbanderson@ucdavis.edu. Understanding stem cell differentiationIn very early embryos, chemical changes are made to DNA and to chromatin, the protein that supports DNA. These changes can turn specific genes on or off, creating a permanent "footprint" or "cellular memory." Frederic Chedin, assistant professor in the Section of Molecular Cell Biology and the Center for Genetics and Development, is studying epigenetics, or how this cellular memory is created. This process is critical for turning stem cells into differentiated cells such as skin, nerves or muscle. Faults in the process, when the wrong genes are turned off, are now thought to be a major contributor to cancer and childhood diseases. Understanding the process could lead to new drugs to reverse cancerous changes in cells. Contact: Frederic Chedin, Molecular Cell Biology, (530) 752-1800, flchedin@ucdavis.edu. Media contacts:
Last updated April 15, 2005 |
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