News

Group Leaders Professor David Rowitch and Professor Ben Simons, and Affiliate Principal Investigator Dr Peter Campbell, are among over 60 outstanding scientists from across the globe who have joined the Royal Society as Fellows and Foreign Members.The Royal Society is a self-governing Fellowship made up of the most eminent scientists, engineers and…

Cambridge Stem Cell Institute researchers and collaborators at the Cambridge Academy of Therapeutic Sciences (CATS) are participating in a €2 million project led by Professor Clare Blackburn at the University of Edinburgh to establish the European Consortium for Communicating Gene and Cell Therapy Information (EuroGCT).Gene therapy is an exciting a…

The largest study of its type in the UK has identified differences in the immune response to COVID-19 between asymptomatic people and those suffering more severely with the virus.Researchers at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute are part of a team working across the University of Cambridge, Wellcome Sanger Institute, Newcastle University, University…

Researchers may have found the earliest changes that occur in seemingly healthy breast tissue long before any tumours appear, according to a new study published in Nature Communications.The study, funded by Cancer Research UK, showed that before becoming cancerous, breast cells with the BRCA1 gene mutation undergo changes similar to those normally …

The MS Society has awarded £1.85million of new funding for its research ‘Centre of Excellence’ in Cambridge, as part of their fight to stop multiple sclerosis (MS).The major new grant will allow Cambridge scientists to find new treatments, faster, for tens of thousands of people living with progressive forms of MS in the UK, who currently have noth…

Scientists have used a technique to grow bile duct organoids – often referred to as ‘mini-organs’ – in the lab and shown that these can be used to repair damaged human livers. This is the first time that the technique has been used on human organs.The research paves the way for cell therapies to treat liver disease – in other words, growing ‘mini-b…

Scientists have tracked the very early stages of human foetal gut development in incredible detail, and found specific cell functions that appear to be reactivated in the gut of children with Crohn’s Disease. The results are an important step towards better management and treatment of this devastating condition.The research from the University of C…

Severe infections like malaria cause short and long-term damage to precursor blood cells in mice, but some damage could be reversed, find researchers.A team led by researchers from Imperial College London, The Francis Crick Institute and the Wellcome – MRC Cambridge Stem Cell Institute have discovered that severe infections caused by malaria disrup…

Blood stem and progenitor cells are responsible for the constant production of red and white blood cells, and also platelets, with millions of these blood cells being produced every second. Disruption of this blood cell production system can lead to diseases such as leukaemia, a type of blood cancer caused by a rapid overproduction of abnormal whit…

To better understand how SARS-CoV-2 infects the lungs and causes disease, a team of scientists from the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and collaborators in South Korea turned to organoids – ‘mini-organs’ grown in three dimensions to mimic the behaviour of tissue and organs.The team used tissue donated to tissue banks at the Royal Papworth Hospital N…

Results from a Phase 2 trial, based on underpinning research from the Franklin lab have shown that remyelination is possible in humans. These results are being built on in a new clinical trial funded by the MS Society, based on further research from the Franklin group, involving the diabetes drug metformin and the antihistamine clemastine.Remyelina…

Dr Sanjay Sinha, group leader at the Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and Cardiologist at Addenbrooke’s Hospital, was featured in the latest series on Surgeons: Edge of Life aired on BBC 2 on the 20th of October.The latest series of the Surgeons’ Edge of Life series on BBC 2 focuses on Royal Papworth and Addenbrooke’s Hospital and, alongside showing o…

Spinout company Stroma Biosciences, co-founded by Cambridge Stem Cell Institute and Department of Haematology PI Dr Ingo Ringshausen and post-doc Dr Eugene Park has been selected as one of four start-up companies taking part in the Accelerate@Babraham Start-up Programme.As part of the Accelerate@Babraham Programme, Stroma Biosciences have secured f…

Stem Cell Institute PIs and affiliates have been awarded funding from MRC-AMED joint call for collaborations between academics in the UK and Japan in the field of regenerative medicine and stem cell research.Many congratulations to PIs Dr Cédric Ghevaert, Dr Simon Mendez-Ferrer and Professor Ben Simons and affiliate PI Professor Alfonso Martinez-Ar…

In their latest The Future of Everything podcast, the Wall Street Journal explore the possibility of making blood in the lab and feature an interview with Cambridge Stem Cell Institute PI Dr Cédric Ghevaert.Research into making blood in the lab for use in the clinic is an area the Ghevaert group have been building up expertise over the past decade.…