New lab space for stem cell research

SANTA BARBARA Biomedical research at UC Santa Barbara has catapulted to a position of leadership in the arena of stem cell biology, offering progress toward cures for vision diseases such as macular degeneration. Stem cell research has the potential to transform the practice of medicine, by replacing diseased tissue with healthy new cells. Interdisciplinary teams of UC Santa Barbara researchers including world-renowned faculty members recruited from the U.S. and Britain are leading the charge. The university's newly renovated lab space is critical to the mission.

The latest research holds the promise of developing stem cells from skin, called induced pluripotent stem cells, which could eventually replace the use of human embryonic stem cells. The hope is to find cures for diseases including macular degeneration, diabetic retinopathy and Alzheimer's.

Campus leaders, dignitaries, scientists, and engineers gathered at UC Santa Barbara on Friday (Oct. 26) to celebrate the completion of a dream: 10,000 square feet of renovated laboratory space devoted to stem cell research. This was the grand opening ceremony and ribbon-cutting in celebration of UC Santa Barbara's Center for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering, part of the Neuroscience Research Institute. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) contributed to the renovation with a $3.2 million grant that was matched by $3.2 million from the university. The top-flight new laboratories are a magnet for attracting new talent.

Chancellor Henry T. Yang commented: "We think UCSB can make important contributions to stem cell research at the interface of biology, neuroscience, and engineering. The future is very bright as we continue to grow and add more top-notch researchers and faculty to this area. These new laboratories will make this possible."

Kenneth S. Kosik, physician and Harriman Chair in the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology, and co-director of the Neuroscience Research Institute, remarked on this watershed moment in UCSB's stem cell research. "This is a momentous event," said Kosik. "It's a big milestone for UCSB to have come from a premier engineering institute to a place where we are doing world-class work in another entire area, in stem cell biology. With that triumph, that success, we are moving into world-class ranks here."

Leading stem cell biologist Dennis Clegg, center executive director of strategy, planning and operations, and co-principal director of the California Project to Cure Blindness, has directed the center since its inception, and also directed strategy for UC Santa Barbara's specific contribution to stem cell biology.

"We realized that we have a tremendous collection of expertise in bioengineering, basic molecular biology, and neuroscience," said Clegg. "Those groups together, working together collaborating across normal interdisciplinary lines make for a powerful combination of expertise. And we've been able to address some of the key problems in stem cell research, like how to deliver the cells, how to get the cells pure, how to monitor the cells after transplantation, using this combination of bioengineering and molecular biology.

"This has been a long process to complete this renovation for the stem cell center," Clegg said. "It started back in 2007, with our application to CIRM for a major facilities grant. It involved a large number of people on campus scientists, design and construction, administrators.

"We spent many hours figuring out how to come up with matching funds and how to raise money for the stem cell center. It really is a realization of our dream to expand stem cell research on campus. We think we have a lot more to offer. The trajectory is upward; we are really making progress. This will allow us to hire new people, new faculty, bring them in and collaborate with the group of stellar scientists that we've already assembled."

One of the new center directors, Peter Coffey, was hired with a CIRM recruitment grant earlier this year. Coffey, who holds the Garland Chair and is the center's executive director of translation, is considered a star in the world of stem cell science. While at the University College London, he started a group called the London Project to Cure Blindness, which will begin clinical trials early next year. Coffey hopes to bring a part of this project to California.

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New lab space for stem cell research