Stem Cells and Tissue Repair

Medical Research Breakfast Seminar

By Professor Alan Trounson

Director, Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories (MISCL), Faculty of Medicine, Nursing and Health Sciences, Monash University

Hear a world-leading stem cell pioneer explain the use of stem cells in tissue repair and regeneration and the manipulation of the immune systems for successful health outcomes.

Cost:
$42.50 per person (incl GST)


The seminar will highlight:

· the potential of human embryonic stem cells, placental stem cells and multipotent adult stem cells;
· the interrogation of disease specific stem cells, eg. Cystic Fibrosis and Huntington’s Disease;
· the understanding of cancer stem cells, eg. prostate cancer;
· the production of new tissue types, eg. blood, pancreatic tissue, lung and liver tissue for diseases such as diabetes, pulmonary fibrosis and liver cirrhosis
· the role of the thymus in immune regulation and how this may be manipulated for:

o transplantation therapies
o autoimmunity – MS and diabetes

Background

Stem cells are renewable cells that produce one or numerous other cell types. They may be primitive cell types that differentiate into all the cells of the organism (body) – termed pluripotential; produce a wide range of cell types – termed multipotential; or be limited to producing only cells of a specific tissue type – termed adult stem cells. We are studying all types of stem cells for their usefulness in tissue repair and regeneration.

The body’s immune system is set early in life to recognise self and foreign cells and organisms. This protects us from severe infection and tissue invasion of foreign organisms. The immune system prevents incompatible cell or tissue transplantation but can also fail with increasing age to express autoimmunity. We are studying ways of manipulating the immune system with stem cells to enable transplant tolerance and correction of autoimmunity in diseases such as Multiple Sclerosis and Juvenile Diabetes.

These combinations of scientific approaches distinguish MISCL internationally as a unique approach for potential therapies in a wide spectrum of diseases.

The Speaker

Alan Trounson, Ph.D., is Professor of Stem Cell Sciences and Director, Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories at Monash University, and the Founder of the National Biotechnology Centre of Excellence – ‘Australian Stem Cell Centre’, as well as Global Scientific Strategy Advisor.

His scientific accomplishments include; the pioneering of human in vitro fertilisation (IVF) and associated reproductive technologies; the diagnosis of inherited genetic disease in preimplantation embryos; the discovery and production of human embryonic stem cells and their ability to be directed into neurones, prostate tissue and respiratory tissue. He is on the Victorian Government’s Innovation Economy Advisory Board, and is a Director of the Victorian Endowment for Science, Knowledge and Innovation (VESKI). His present research interests are focused on the formation of human embryonic stem cells and stem cell biology; reprogramming pluripotentiality by cytoplasmic and nuclear transfer; embryonic stem cell differentiation into respiratory, thymic, prostate and gametic lineages; and adult and embryonic stem cell utilization in cell therapy for inflammatory lung disease and cystic fibrosis.