Objectif
A crucial goal of regenerative medicine is to generate desired cells, to build a specific tissue, from pluripotent stem cells directly derived from a patient's cells. These cells are known as induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells and they have a potential therapeutic use as they offer an alternative to the controversial use of embryonic stem cells and, additionally, they avoid the issue of immune rejection. Nowadays the finding of an efficient and safe transfection method to introduce the appropriate genes (Oct3/4, Sox2, c-Myc and Klf4) into adult cells to obtain pluripotent stem cells is a bottleneck that could limit the use of iPS cells in humans. There is a need for a safe method for the production of pluripotent cells from adult human cells. Herein the development of a non-viral method for generating iPS cells is proposed. The broad aims of this research project are the design of novel strategies (based on solid phase chemistry) for the application, exploitation and development of a generic microsphere cellular delivery system for the release of a desired therapeutic cargo (such as DNA and protein) into adult human cells to induce the formation of iPS cells. This aims will be carried on by applying the skills in cellular delivery systems that the applicant acquired during her stay at the University of Edinburgh (UK) as a Research Fellow for the last five years. The project is a multidisciplinary approach with a synthetic chemical part to be developed at the University of Granada, where the applicant has recently been incorporated as Lecturer in Medicinal and Organic Chemistry, and a biological part to be developed at the Andalusian Bank of Stem Cells in collaboration with Dr. Garcia Perez, an specialist in the area of reprogrammation. The project deals with a topic of interest in European Research as it faces the treatment of many diseases by applying regenerative medicine based in the formation of iPS cells.
Champ scientifique
Appel à propositions
FP7-PEOPLE-2011-CIG
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Régime de financement
MC-CIG - Support for training and career development of researcher (CIG)Coordinateur
18071 Granada
Espagne