A type of cell derived from human stem cells that has been widely used for brain research and drug development may have been leading researchers astray for years, according to a study from scientists at Weill Cornell Medicine and Columbia University Irving Medical Center.
Dr. Shahin Rafii, director of the Ansary Stem Cell Institute and chief of the Division of Regenerative Medicine at Weill Cornell Medicine, has received an Outstanding Investigator Award (R35) from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health (NIH), for an ambitious project to accelerate regenerative medicine technology.
A team led by Weill Cornell Medicine scientists has pioneered a method for manufacturing functioning human blood vessels and demonstrated that they can carry blood in lab-grown model organs and tumors.
Molecules that coordinate the development of highly specialized blood vessels in the kidney have been identified by investigators at Weill Cornell Medicine, University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center and Hofstra University. The findings pave the way toward new strategies for repairing damaged organs.
