Midwest Regenerative Medicine Symposium to Be Held in Cincinnati

CINCINNATI—Hoxworth Blood Center, the University of Cincinnati and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center will host the Midwest Symposium on New Concepts For Tissue-Specific Regenerative Medicine, Nov 16-17, 2012, in Rieveschl Auditorium of the Vontz Center for Molecular Studies.

The symposium, also being co-sponsored and co-funded by UC’s Center for Clinical and Translational Science and Training (CCTST), will focus on research and collaboration regarding regenerative medicine—the process of regenerating human cells, tissues or organs to restore or establish normal function.

The field holds the promise of repairing damaged tissues and organs in the body by stimulating the body's own repair mechanisms or by growing replacement tissues in labs.

Jose Cancelas, MD, PhD, professor of pediatrics at the UC College of Medicine and director of the research division at Hoxworth Blood Center, is a co-organizer of the symposium and says regenerative medicine expertise is very strong in the region.

"This was the idea of Ron Sacher, MD, professor in the department of internal medicine at UC and director of Hoxworth Blood Center. I am extremely excited to have been selected to co-host this event along with my colleagues Dr. Punam Malik, Dr. James Wells and Dr. Carolyn Lutzko, at Cincinnati Children’s and the UC College of Medicine,” he says.

"The support of Dr. Arnold Strauss from Cincinnati Children’s and College of Medicine Dean Thomas Boat has been outstanding and without limitations. It truly speaks to the strategic vision of our leadership in fostering and expanding the regenerative medicine skills that exist in the Greater Cincinnati area.

"The purpose of the symposium will be to create a forum where investigators and their groups can meet and share ideas and data,” he continues. "In addition, it will serve as an excellent platform for regional scientific interactions for investigators, postdocs and students that have interest in regenerative medicine and stem cell biology. Hopefully, this meeting will spark collaborations locally and regionally.”

Specifically, the meeting will focus on research using stem cells in the body, or those manipulated in a petri dish, to study disease, generate therapeutic tissues and create genetic therapies.

Keynote speakers will deliver addresses followed by short oral presentations with extended discussions to allow interaction among attendees.

"Research presentations will span from how scientists are looking at the use of stem cells to assist with gastrointestinal, pancreas, lung, corneal, skeletal muscle, vascular and cardiac regeneration to genetic therapies and how this research could and is translating to treatment,” Cancelas says. "There’s a wealth of scientific and clinical stem cell work being done right here in Cincinnati.

"This meeting is a way to more closely work together to further enhance the field of regenerative medicine and the promise it holds for patients.”