Stem Cell Tissue Engineering and Biomedical Excellence

Overview

Key facts:

• It has stirred a great excitement in medical research. Owing to advancement in the cellular and molecular technologies, there has been a remarkable surge on the information on various aspects of stem cell biology. The stem cells play a critical role in normal growth and development by providing new cells for replacing and repairing the damaged tissues. When a sperm to make a human embryo fertilizes an egg, the single fertilized egg cell divides millions of times to form the six billion or more cells that make up our bodies. Most of these cells undergo a process called differentiation, to enable them becoming specialized cells for carrying out different body functions. The Stem Cell Tissue Engineering and Biomedical Excellence programme is offered at the Panjab University.
• The studies documenting the feasibility of using stem cells to treat a broad spectrum of human diseases including multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer.s disease, cancer, type-1 diabetes, arthritis, burns, and spinal cord injury are therefore on rise beside using them as drug targets and/or the vehicles. The stem cells are also being used in basic research laboratories to help elucidate fundamental concepts in molecular, cellular, and developmental biology.
• In spite of the directed efforts in delineating various complexities which these cell types pose, the field is still largely in its infancy. Each passing day is filled with numerous challenges, which beacons the scientists to explore this field of biology with greater impetus. The use and management of stem cells in the laboratory is no doubt difficult and arduous. It hence depends heavily on the trained personnel to understand the intricacies associated with the use and maintenance of these cell types for future therapeutic interventions. The academia and industry both rely upon the trained scientists and technically sound professionals who could take the challenges and provide the ways to use these cells for many of the Human ailments