MRC launches new Centre for Regenerative Medicine in Edinburgh
27 November 2008
The MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh was launched this week, just days after the first cartilage transplant using regenerative medicine techniques was reported as having been successfully carried out. Already, the Centre has attracted world-class expertise to work towards medical therapies for diseases of the blood, bone, brain and liver using both embryonic and adult stem cells.
Sir John Chisholm, Chairman of the Medical Research Council, said: “This Centre is precisely what the MRC is in business for. It is an expert body which takes science forward in the interest of the nation and for the overall good of humankind. Seeing this collaboration between the MRC, the University of Edinburgh and the Scottish Government, I believe that we’ll also see world leading results.”
Scientists at the centre are developing ways to mend damaged bones and cartilage using a patient’s own stem cells, as well as looking at ways liver disease could be treated using embryonic stem cells to reduce the need for transplantation. Another team is looking to develop novel therapeutic strategies for Multiple Sclerosis using both adult and embryonic stem cells in combination with nerve regeneration.
Sir Ian Wilmut, Director of the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine, said: “Research with stem cells will ultimately provide treatment for diseases and conditions that have no treatment at the present time. In the case last week we learned that, without her transplant, the patient was short of breath and even gasping from time to time, but now her life is transformed. Creating these new opportunities depends first upon research to understand cells and be able to make them become the type of cell that is needed. Only then is it possible to use that new knowledge to begin to develop safe and effective treatments. The new Centre at the University of Edinburgh, with purpose built facilities at Little France being completed over the next few years, brings together both of these aspects of research.”
Other work at the MRC Centre looks at how blood stem cells could be produced, so they could be used to treat patients needing bone marrow transplants or blood transfusions. Scientists are also exploring how stem cells could be used to screen potentially harmful side effects in drugs with a view to fulfilling the MRC’s 3 Rs commitment: the replacement, refinement, and reduction of animals in research.
Tim O’Shea, principal, University of Edinburgh: “We’re delighted by the progress already made by the Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine. The Centre brings together wonderful scientists from the Roslin Institute, the Institute for Stem Cell Research, and the University’s Faculty of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine to form a critical mass of different types of researchers. It is the partnership between the Medical Research Council, the University of Edinburgh and the Scottish Government which has made this endeavour possible.”
A £59 million building will be completed within the next three years at Little France to bring all the centre’s scientists under one roof. The building will also form part of the Edinburgh Bioquarter collaboration between the University of Edinburgh, Scottish Enterprise and NHS Lothian.
John Swinney, Cabinet Secretary for Finance and Sustainable Growth, Scottish Government, said: “This is a tremendous day for Scotland with the launch of the Medical Research Council Centre for Regenerative Medicine. Today’s launch is a culmination of years of research into an area of science which seeks to alleviate the suffering of millions of people worldwide. The Centre for Regenerative Medicine is part of Scotland’s unique and first class contribution to the field of regenerative medicine and to the emerging global reputation for excellence in stem cell research.
Phone: 0207 670 5139
press.office@headoffice.mrc.ac.uk
