NUIG SIGNS DEAL WITH WORLD’S LEADING STEM CELL INSTITUTE

Date Published: 26-Aug-2010

NUI Galway has signed a collaboration deal with the top US stem cell institute.

The university’s agreed to share scientists and collaborate on projects with the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

The US scientists were the first in the world to create a lab-grown bladder which was implanted into a human and today are working to grow more than 22 different organs and tissues for practically every body part.

In the long term, the scientists hope, patients may no longer have to wait on the national transplant list as organs could be tailor-made for people.

Director of the Network for Excellence for Functional Biomaterials at NUIG Professor Abhay Pandit explains why the Wake Forest Institute wants to work with NUIG scientists.