Stem cell research centre
The Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CRM) is a stem cell research centre at the University of Edinburgh in Scotland, dedicated to the study and development of new regenerative treatments for human diseases.[ 2] The centre forms part of the university's Institute for Regeneration and Repair and is part of the BioQuarter cluster at Little France .[ 3] [ 4]
The University of Edinburgh's history in stem cell research dates back to the early 1990s. Under the leadership of Austin Smith , the university's Centre for Genome Research became the first Institute of Stem Cell Research (ISCR) in the UK.[ 5] The CRM was formed in 2008 as a merger of ISCR scientists with scientists from the University's College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine , an initiative directed by Ian Wilmut . From 2008 to 2020, the centre had MRC status.[ 6] Charles ffrench-Constant became the 2nd Director of CRM in 2010; he was succeeded by Stuart Forbes in 2015.[ 7] In 2024, Anna Williams and Tilo Kunath were appointed co-directors of the centre.[ 8]
As of 2016[update] , the CRM had attracted £55 million in research funding.[ 6]
The centre is home to 26 research groups; group leaders include Clare Blackburn , Ian Chambers, Charles ffrench-Constant , Stuart Forbes, Dónal O'Carroll and Ian Wilmut .[ 9] As of 2019[update] , the CRM employs 300 scientists.[ 1] Conditions being researched at the CRM include multiple sclerosis and heart and liver disease .[ 10] [ 11] [ 12] On 25 August 2014, the centre grew the first working organ, a thymus , from scratch inside an animal.[ 13] [ 14] In 2019, the centre published the first in-human trial of a macrophage therapy for liver cirrhosis .[ 1] [ 15]
The centre surrounded by construction in June 2021
The CRM building was officially opened by the Princess Royal on 28 May 2012.[ 16] Designed by Sheppard Robson , the building is part of a total £600 million joint investment in stem cell biology and medicine by the Scottish Government and the University of Edinburgh.[ 17]
The CRM building is also home to applied scientists working with the Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service and Roslin Cells.[ 17] It contains laboratory and support space, a company incubator unit, and a clinical translation unit which enables the production of cells at Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) grade. CRM spinout companies include Cellinta (developing gene therapies for cancer)[ 18] [ 19] and Resolution Therapeutics (developing cell treatments for liver damage).[ 20] [ 21]
^ a b c Morton, Robin (23 December 2019). "Celebrating ten years of the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine" . mrc.ukri.org . Retrieved 25 August 2020 .
^ "Centre for Regenerative Medicine" . The University of Edinburgh . Retrieved 25 August 2020 .
^ "Institute for Regeneration and Repair" . The University of Edinburgh . Retrieved 25 August 2020 .
^ "World Leading Academics, Businesses, Clinicians" . Edinburgh Bioquarter . Retrieved 25 August 2020 .
^ "History of CRM" . The University of Edinburgh . Retrieved 25 August 2020 .
^ a b "BiGGAR Economics Evaluation of the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine" (PDF) . Retrieved 25 August 2020 .
^ "New Director" . The University of Edinburgh . Retrieved 25 August 2020 .
^ "New Co-Directors of the Centre for Regenerative Medicine" . The University of Edinburgh . 18 October 2024. Retrieved 22 October 2024 .
^ "Research" . The University of Edinburgh . Retrieved 25 August 2020 .
^ "Multiple sclerosis" . The University of Edinburgh . Retrieved 25 August 2020 .
^ "Heart disease" . The University of Edinburgh . Retrieved 25 August 2020 .
^ "Liver disease and cancer" . The University of Edinburgh . Retrieved 25 August 2020 .
^ Bredenkamp, Nicholas; Ulyanchenko, Svetlana; O'Neill, Kathy Emma; Manley, Nancy Ruth; Vaidya, Harsh Jayesh; Blackburn, Catherine Clare (2014). "An organized and functional thymus generated from FOXN1-reprogrammed fibroblasts" . Nature Cell Biology . 16 (9): 902– 908. doi :10.1038/ncb3023 . PMC 4153409 . PMID 25150981 .
^ Freeman, David (25 August 2014). "Scientists Create Working Organ From Scratch For First Time Ever" . Huffington Post. Retrieved 28 August 2014 .
^ Moroni, Francesca; Dwyer, Benjamin J.; Graham, Catriona; Pass, Chloe; Bailey, Laura; Ritchie, Lisa; Mitchell, Donna; Glover, Alison; Laurie, Audrey; Doig, Stuart; Hargreaves, Emily; Fraser, Alasdair R.; Turner, Marc L.; Campbell, John D. M.; McGowan, Neil W. A.; Barry, Jacqueline; Moore, Joanna K.; Hayes, Peter C.; Leeming, Diana J.; Nielsen, Mette J.; Musa, Kishwar; Fallowfield, Jonathan A.; Forbes, Stuart J. (October 2019). "Safety profile of autologous macrophage therapy for liver cirrhosis". Nature Medicine . 25 (10): 1560– 1565. doi :10.1038/s41591-019-0599-8 . hdl :2164/13978 . PMID 31591593 . S2CID 203852760 .
^ "Princess Royal opens Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine" . BBC News . BBC. 28 May 2012.
^ a b "Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine" . Regenerative Medicine . Health Science Scotland . Retrieved 19 September 2012 .
^ "Cancer therapeutics biotech formation supported by Steven Pollard" . The University of Edinburgh . Retrieved 8 December 2020 .
^ Parsons, Lucy (21 September 2020). "University of Edinburgh spinout Cellinta will develop gene therapies for cancer" . PharmaTimes . Retrieved 8 December 2020 .
^ "Cell therapy spinout targets liver repair treatment" . The University of Edinburgh . Retrieved 8 December 2020 .
^ Dorsey, Kirsty (2 December 2020). "Edinburgh University spin-out secures £26.6m to treat liver damage" . HeraldScotland . Retrieved 8 December 2020 .
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