UBC Medicine researchers awarded over $2.5 million from Canada’s Stem Cell Network – UBC Faculty of Medicine

By Digital Comms | May 12, 2022

Researchers from UBCs faculty of medicine have been awarded over $2.5 million from Canadas Stem Cell Network (SCN) to advance six regenerative medicine research projects and clinical trials.

The funding is part of a $19.5 million investment by SCN in 32 projects across Canada. The investment is the largest in SCNs history, made possible through increased funding by the Government of Canada in 2021. Stem cells have traditionally fuelled the field of regenerative medicine which is focused on regrowing, repairing or replacing damaged or diseased cells, organs and tissues.

The largest of the UBC-led projects funded by SCN will receive $1M to conduct research and a clinical trial for one of the worlds first genetically engineered cell replacement therapies for type 1 diabetes. The project aims to support the development of a potential functional cure for type 1 diabetes.

The six projects led by UBC faculty of medicine researchers are:

Dr. Nika Shakiba, assistant professor, school of biomedical engineering

Project: Elucidating the competitive advantage of aberrant pluripotent stem cells in suspension bioprocesses

$300,000 Early Career Researcher Jump-Start Awards

Dr. Carl de Boer, assistant professor, school of biomedical engineering

Project: Decoding human cis-regulatory logic in development to treat disease

$300,000 Early Career Researcher Jump-Start Awards

Dr. Sheila Teves, assistant professor, department of biochemistry and molecular biology

Project: Transcription regulation of hiPSC-derived cardiomyocytes during maturation and hypertrophic cardiomyopathy

$300,000 Early Career Researcher Jump-Start Awards

Dr. Pamela Hoodless, professor, department of medical genetics, school of biomedical engineering

Project: Pathways of cell identity in human liver organoids

$250,000 Impact Awards

Dr. David Thompson, clinical assistant professor, department of medicine

Project: Clinical trial of the first gene-edited cell replacement therapy for type 1 diabetes

$1,000,000 Clinical Trial Awards

Dr. Michael Underhill, professor, department of cellular and physiological sciences

Project: Novel therapeutic strategies to promote liver regeneration

$399,200 Fueling Biotechnology Partnerships

Original post:
UBC Medicine researchers awarded over $2.5 million from Canada's Stem Cell Network - UBC Faculty of Medicine