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Stanford University

STANFORD UNIVERSITY IS located in California; it was founded in 1885 and opened in 1891, and the Stanford Medical Center opened in 1959. The university offers undergraduate, graduate and professional degrees at the main campuses and has branch campuses in France, Italy, Germany, Austria, and England.

The Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine creates multidisci—pline collaborations for fundamental research. The institute's focus is biomédical research and patient care using stem cells in diagnosis and treatment of human disease.

Stem Cell Research at Stanford

Stanford's Stem Cell research is able to progress due to supportive legislation and public support, including the California voters' passing Proposition 71 in 2004 to fund stem cell research. Despite legal battles by critics of stem cell research, the state's commitment has allowed research to move forward. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has awarded Stanford a greater percentage of state funding than any other single research institution.

Stanford is known for its fundamental stem cell research as well as clinical trials to translate science into medical treatment for human disease, including heart disease and neurological disease. Stanford researchers have developed technology necessary for stem cell research. In the 1980s, researchers developed a high—speed cell sorter and used the technology to isolate stem cells. In the 1990s, the development of microarrray technology made it possible for researchers to assess differences in genetic expression throughout the stages of development and distinguish between normal and cancerous tissues. Researchers in the genetic department developed the fluorescence—activated cell sorter for identification and extraction of pure cells from tissue samples.

The Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine was formed to focus research on creating new embryonic stem cell lines, organ and tissue regeneration and cancer cure/ therapy through targeting the cancer stem cell. The institutes' networks have resulted in multidiscipline and department collaboration for research in cancer, diabetes, and genetically inherited diseases for potential use of stem cell—based therapies.

Embryonic Stem Cell Line Creation and Research

Researchers are working on isolating heart and blood—forming stem cells derived from human embryonic stem cells and have created four new embryonic stem cell lines from in vitro fertilization (IVF) embryos. A California Institute for Regenerative Medicine grant will provide researchers with the opportunity to expand to using embryos with genetic likelihood of developing Down syndrome, cystic fibrosis, or muscular dystrophy and to isolate heart and blood stem cells from embryonic stem cells.

In addition to those lines from IVF embryos, researchers hope to create stem cells genetically identical to a specific person by using somatic cell nuclear transfer (SCNT), a process that removes the egg nucleus and replaces it with a nucleus from an adult cell, then stimulates the egg to develop for the removal of genetically identical embryonic stem cells. This technique could be used to either create cells for therapy or for further research on the diseases of the human donor. Despite the fact that the technique has not worked, Stanford attracted a postdoctoral researcher who has worked with deriving embryonic stem cells from SCNT in primates. Because of the ability to work with the IVF clinic to obtain rejected eggs and increase knowledge, the researchers hope to create human stem cell lines through SCNT.

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