National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia June newsletter
Welcome to the Foundation’s bulletin on stem cell science, news and our work in supporting stem cell research in Australia.
Australia is home to some remarkable stem cell researchers. Two of them were recognised today by our inaugural Metcalf Prizes.
Kaylene Young believes she can persuade certain lazy stem cells to repair brain injury. Jose Polo is unveiling the details of how stem cells can be produced from adult cells through a process of identity theft and reprogramming.
We’ve been able to award these prizes thanks to the generous support of our donors. We’re calling for more donations now to ensure we can offer future prizes and conduct other initiatives supporting stem cell research and community education.
One such initiative is the Foundation’s new Snapshot of Australian Stem Cell Science: May 2014, illustrating the depth and diversity of local stem cell research. Read on to find out more about the snapshot.
This research is building the evidence base for the use of stem cells to study disease and alleviate suffering. Stem cell science holds a lot of promise, but there is still a long way to go towards establishing safe, proven treatments.
It is vitally important we support both the science and community understanding of it. This is the Foundation’s mission. Please support us in our work.
Kind regards,
Dr Graeme L Blackman OAM
Chairman, National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia
In this bulletin:
- New national stem cell prizes awarded to Tasmanian and Melbourne researchers
- Raised funds at work
- What’s happening in Australian stem cell research?
- From stem cell fraud to acupuncture, peer review can save us from ourselves
- Stem cell news from around the world
New national stem cell prizes awarded to Tasmanian and Melbourne researchers
Metcalf Prize-winning researchers Jose Polo and Kaylene Young. Credit: Mark Coulson/NSCFA
Stem cells changing identity and mending the mind: meet the Metcalf Prize-winning researchers
Dr Kaylene Young of the Menzies Research Institute Tasmania at UTAS and Dr Jose Polo of the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute at Monash University have both received inaugural $50,000 Metcalfe Prizes from the National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia in recognition of their leadership in stem cell research.
Kaylene Young believes she can persuade lazy stem cells in our brain to repair brain injuries and even treat diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Alzheimer’s.
Kaylene and her colleagues have found neural stem cells and related progenitor cells (OPCs) – which feed, protect and assist nerve cells – in the outer part of the brain most prone to damage, known as the cortex.
By understanding the behaviour and function of these cells, they one day hope to use them for treating nervous and brain disorders or damage.
“Our ultimate goal is to harness the regenerative capacity of these cells for the treatment of neurodegenerative diseases, mental health disorders and traumatic brain injury,” says Kaylene.
Kaylene is a National Health and Medical Research Council RD Wright Biomedical Research Fellow and Research Group Leader at the University of Tasmania.
According to Kaylene, the progenitor cells are the only cells, apart from other neurons, with which nerve cells communicate electrically. This means there may be an electrical means of controlling them or modifying their behaviour to induce regeneration.
Jose Polo is unveiling the details of how stem cells can be produced from adult cells through a process of identity theft and reprogramming.
His work in unravelling the development of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) – stem cells generated from adult cells in the skin, liver, blood or other parts of the body – is an important step on the path to treating degenerative diseases and understanding some cancers.
Jose is the Sylvia and Charles Viertel Senior Medical Research Fellow at the Department of Anatomy and Developmental Biology at Monash University and the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute.
“We’ve created the Metcalf Prizes to encourage early career stem cell research pioneers,” says Dr Graeme Blackman OAM, the Chairman of the Foundation.
“We were stunned by the quality of the applications. Our inaugural winners Kaylene Young and Jose Polo stood out from a remarkable field of young researcher leaders. We can expect great things from Australian stem cell research in next few years.”
The awards are named for Professor Donald Metcalf AC who transformed cancer treatment with his discoveries of critical molecules that tell stem cells to multiply and mature to boost the immune system.
Read more about the Metcalf Prize winners.
Raised funds at work
Support the Foundation’s end of financial year appeal
Supporting the research of the Metcalf Prize winners Dr Jose Polo and Dr Kaylene Young would not be possible without the financial assistance of our donors. We hope to raise funds to ensure that the Metcalf Prizes continue in perpetuity.
We are deeply grateful for the kindness and generosity of those who have made donations. With this support, the Foundation has contributed to the development of Australia’s stem cell sector over the past year by:
- publishing The Australian Stem Cell Handbook, which helps patients and their loved ones make informed decisions about stem cell treatments offered in Australia and overseas
- providing funding for the Centre for Eye Research Australia at the University of Melbourne for a research project on age-related macular degeneration, a common, incurable and poorly understood cause of blindness
- providing conference support for:
- 57 PhD students and early career researchers to attend and present at the Australian Society of Stem Cell Researchers Conference in Brisbane
- 17 PhD students and early career researchers to attend and present at the Cell Reprogramming Australia conference in Melbourne
- five PhD students and early career researchers to attend the International Society of Stem Cell Researchers Conference in Vancouver
- funding national public forums on diabetes and stem cells and macular degeneration and stem cells, bringing scientists, physicians and the broader community together to exchange information
- undertaking national educational programs on stem cells for secondary students through online resources, panel discussions with scientists and special film screenings.
The Foundation is the only ATO-registered Health Promotion Charity taking a one-stop national research and public information approach to encourage the best and the brightest researchers in Australia’s stem cell sector. We focus on delivering better health outcomes for all in our community through collaborative funding.
With the end of financial year around the corner, we invite people to make a donation to support our ongoing work. Donations can be made securely online at our website.
What’s happening in Australian stem cell research?
Foundation’s new Snapshot of Australian Stem Cell Research now online
Scenes from Australian stem cell science. Credit: images by Mark Coulson, David Haylock, Megan Munsie and Ernst Wolvetang
We have published a snapshot of stem cell projects in Australia. The Snapshot of Stem Cell Research in Australia: May 2014 documents 150 projects and initiatives around Australia on stem cell research as of May 2014.
The snapshot aims to capture in one document the range of local current research, with the hope that this will facilitate collaboration and networking among researchers.
Australia’s breadth of stem cell research reflects the country’s early pioneering work in the field: from the development of polymer scaffolding for stem cell-derived tissues in Queensland to adult central nervous system cell regeneration research in Tasmania; from lung tissue repair research in the West to potentially restoring eye sight using stem cells in the East.
Information contained in the snapshot has come from research institute websites and/or has been edited or provided directly by individual researchers.
The snapshot can be downloaded via the National Stem Cell Foundation of Australia website.
From stem cell fraud to acupuncture, peer review can save us from ourselves
Feature by Mick Vagg, Clinical Senior Lecturer at Deakin University School of Medicine & Pain Specialist at Barwon Health; originally published at The Conversation, 2 April 2014
The publication of a paper in Nature describing “stimulus-triggered acquisition of pluripotency” (STAP) caused an international sensation. It was potentially the Holy Grail of stem cell research – how to create stem cells with a benchtop technique that seemed simple, reliable and cheap compared to other ways that were known to researchers.
The researcher involved was a scientific wunderkind named Haruko Obokata. Obokata had published this revolutionary research in the most prestigious peer-reviewed journal of all, only three years after completing her PhD in cell biology. It seemed like a fairytale rise.
It didn’t take long for cracks to appear in the tale. Excited scientists all over the world tried and failed to replicate the results.
If the breakthrough had truly been all it promised, and more, there would be rapid replication by other labs within weeks, and frenzied efforts to improve and enlarge upon the new knowledge.
Sadly, none of that happened.
Stem cell news from around the world
Between newsletters, we share stem cell news on social media:
Here are a few of the stories we’ve shared recently.
Australian Academy of Science: (Video) Sir Gustav Nossal presents ‘Biomedical research: a success story’ at Science at the Shine Dome 2014. Address begins at 36:57 and includes local stem cell success.
Harvard Stem Cell Institute: Herpes-loaded stem cells used to kill brain tumours
Wall Street Journal (Japan): STAP investigator resigns over allegations of similar problems in his own research
Business Standard: Association of Spine Surgeons of India expresses concern over risks of unproven stem cell treatments for spinal injuries
Cell Stem Cell: Human stem cells created by CHA Health Systems researchers via cloning technique – research paper abstract
Washington Post: In stem-cell research, health benefits outweigh the risks of copying humans
Impact Nottingham: Stem cells mending a broken heart
Nature News: US National Institutes of Health stem cell program closes
Eureka Alert: Solution to platelet ‘puzzle’ uncovers blood disorder link – WEHI research
UCL News: Light-activated neurons from stem cells restore function to paralysed muscles
GEN: Evolution of stem cell quality standards
University of Auckland: Scientists discover new stem cell in human skin
UMBT Health: Scientists grow new lungs using ‘skeletons’ of old ones
About the Foundation
The NSCFA is an ATO-registered tax-deductible Health Promotion Charity dedicated to promoting the study and responsible use of stem cells to reduce the burden of disease.
The Foundation’s activities include:
- supporting research that pursues cures for as-yet-untreatable diseases
- building a community of people with a shared interest in stem cell science
- providing the Australian public with objective, reliable information on both the potential and risks of stem cell medicine.
We are working to build a community of people with a stake in stem cell science and to promote collaboration between scientists locally and internationally.
Please feel free to contact the Foundation’s CEO David Zerman on (03) 9524 3166 or email him at david@stemcellfoundation.net.au
Spread the word
Help us grow
We’re keen to build a community of people with a stake in stem cell science to educate the community and support patients, clinicians and researchers. Feel free to pass this newsletter on to anyone who might be interested.
Got a story?
If you have comments, questions or news you think might be of interest to the stem cell community, we’d love to hear from you. Drop us a line at: enquiries@stemcellfoundation.net.au
Connect with us online:
- Web: www.stemcellfoundation.net.au
- Twitter: @AusStemCell
- Facebook: Australian Stem Cell Centre
- Youtube: Stem Cell Channel
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