CAMDEN, N.J., Jan. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The Camden, New Jersey-based Coriell Institute for Medical Research and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology have announced the creation of a collaborative program that will advance the study of adult and embryonic stem cells. The program will focus on three leading-edge research areas: comparative studies of the developmental capabilities of stem cells from adult and embryonic sources; altering and directing the development of these cells; and strategies for applying the technology to therapeutic purposes.
A pledge of $1 million from Coriell trustee Ed Satell will be shared equally between both institutions and will establish the Coriell/Technion collaboration as “The Satell Program in Stem Cell Science.” “The goal of this program is to create a powerful new collaboration that will advance stem cell science more quickly than either institution could by itself,” said Satell, a Pennsylvania resident who is active in numerous philanthropic causes. “Each institution will gain access to the critical technology of the other. The burden of genetic disease on families and individuals is so great that we should do this stem cell research now. I’m pleased to have the opportunity to enable this to happen.”
The Coriell Institute is an international leader in human cell banking, serving the worldwide scientific community in human cell and DNA distribution and characterization. The Institute operates the most comprehensive adult stem cell biology program in the State of New Jersey, including investigations into stem cells of the pancreas, fatty tissue, nervous system, muscle, and blood-forming system.
“Basic research on human stem cells is one of the most promising frontiers in creating the next generation of healthcare for all people,” said David P. Beck, Ph.D., president of the Coriell Institute. “It is also one of the most vital avenues of research because of the number of children stricken by illnesses caused by damaged stem cells.”
The Technion is widely recognized as a world leader in embryonic stem cell research. It is one of just 10 academic institutes and companies worldwide, and the only one in Israel approved by the National Institutes of Health for federally funded research. (Last December, two Technion professors received the Nobel Prize for Chemistry.)
“This partnership holds great promise for the future of stem cell research in the U.S., Israel, and around the world,” said Stephen Laser, president of the American Technion Society. “We’re proud to be partners in science that holds hope and paves the way for cures.”
Satell has been dedicated to research that will help understand the causes of cancer and develop new therapies. In 2001 he founded the Richard D. Satell Laboratory at the Coriell Institute in honor of his brother. This Laboratory will serve as an adjunct of the newly initiated Satell Program in Stem Cell Science. Through Satell’s support of such innovative scientific projects, Rick I. Cohen, Ph.D., lead scientist in the Satell Laboratory, has already broken new ground in the basic understanding of stem cell biology. “Major limitations remain in understanding the basic biology of stem cells and in understanding how best to grow these cells,” said Dr. Cohen. “Equally important is understanding the basic differences in potential between adult and embryonic stem cells,” he added.
“Coriell’s collaboration with the Technion will expand the Institute’s role in stem cell studies that may lead to cures for diabetes, spinal cord injuries, and heart disease,” said Beck. “It is an opportunity to bring Coriell’s and Technion’s stem cell programs together in a catalytic fashion.”
Technion researchers, led by Dr. Itskovitz-Eldor and including Drs. Karl Skorecki and Lior Gepstein, will collaborate with the Coriell Stem Cell Research team, led by Dr. Rick Cohen and including Dr. David Moscatello and Dr. Biagio Saitta, to establish an ambitious program in stem cell biology.
“With the scientific advances and technological developments occurring at a rapid pace in areas of major strengths at both institutions, a unique opportunity exists to capitalize on the kind of synergy these collaborations produce,” said Technion president Yitzhak Apeloig. “This close collaboration between the leading biomedical engineering programs in Israel and the United States promises to enhance the future of medical and bioengineering sciences worldwide.”
A Technion researcher was on the international team that, in 1998, first discovered the potential of stem cells to form any kind of tissue and pioneered stem-cell technology. Other stem cell breakthroughs at the Technion include: the ability to grow an infinite number of cells without a feeder layer (making them safe for eventual transplantation); the growth of insulin secreting cells (a first step towards a new approach to treat diabetes), blood vessels and heart tissue; and most recently, the creation of a biological pacemaker.
The Technion-Israel Institute of Technology is Israel’s leading science and technology university. Home to the country’s only winners of the Nobel Prize in science, it commands a worldwide reputation for its pioneering work in computer science, biotechnology, water-resource management, materials engineering, aerospace and medicine. The majority of the founders and managers of Israel’s high-tech companies are alumni. Based in New York City, the American Technion Society is the leading American organization supporting higher education in Israel, with more than 20,000 supporters and 17 offices around the country.
An independent, not-for-profit biomedical research institute, the Coriell Institute pursues scientific research to discover and understand the fundamental principles of genetics and stem cell biology. Among its initiatives, Coriell scientists are investigating the viability and growth of islet cells, which may hold therapeutic options for patients with diabetes; the potential uses of adipose (fat) stem cells in the repair of damaged tissue; the nervous system and understanding of how stem cells may participate in the development or regeneration of the brain or spinal cord following injury; and the capacity to transform umbilical cord blood stem cells into and replace cardiac muscle cells.
In addition to its research programs, the Coriell Institute houses the Coriell Cell Repositories, the world’s largest collection of living human cells. Scientists around the world utilize these human cell cultures or the DNA derived from these cultures as the primary resource for multidisciplinary investigations. Groundbreaking discoveries in Huntington’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, hypercholesterolemia, retinitis pigmentosa, manic- depressive illness, and progeria, among many others, have been made possible as a result of these collections. Coriell has distributed more than 135,000 cell lines and more than 315,000 vials of DNA to researchers in 61 countries, resulting in over 19,600 literature citations.
Coriell Institute for Medical Research
CONTACT: Amy E. Leach, Coriell Institute, +1-856-757-4826; KevinHattori, American Technion Society, +1-212-407-6319, or Dava Guerin, GuerinPublic Relations, Inc., +1-215-914-2040 or +1-215-262-0747 - wireless