Disease Programs

Through disease-specific programs, HSCI channels its world-class resources — both intellectual and technological — toward some of the most prevalent, devastating diseases for which stem cell research can hold promise.

Blood Program

Led by Daniel G. Tenen, M.D., the goal of the HSCI Blood Program is to discover how to turn regeneration on and off. The knowledge gained in this program has implications for leukemia and lymphoma, and for human diseases across the board.

Cancer Program

Led by Mario Suva, M.D., Ph.D., and Carla Kim, Ph.D., the goal of the HSCI Cancer Program is to discover how to kill stem cells — and their entire lineage — without damaging healthy cells.

Cardiovascular Program

The goal of the HSCI Cardiovascular Program, led by Richard Lee, M.D., is to generate new human heart cells to replace damaged heart tissue. This has particular implications for diseases of aging, and for heart disease.

Diabetes Program

The goal of the HSCI Diabetes Program is to cure diabetes. Led by Doug Melton, Ph.D., and Stephan Kissler, Ph.D., the program explores how to create beta cells efficiently, and protect them from attack by the immune system. This has direct implications for Type I Diabetes and Type II Diabetes.

Kidney Program

Researchers in the HSCI Kidney Program, led by M. Todd Valerius, Ph.D., are dedicated to finding new treatments for patients with kidney disease. Their interests are regenerative biology in general, and fibrosis in particular.

Musculoskeletal Program

Led by April Craft, Ph.D., Jenna Galloway, Ph.D., Vicki Rosen, Ph.D., and Amy Wagers, Ph.D., the goal of the HSCI Musculoskeletal Program is to apply our discoveries in stem cell and developmental biology to develop innovative solutions to musculoskeletal injury and disease using regenerative medicine-based approaches.

Nervous System Diseases Program

Lee Rubin, Ph.D., and Tracy Young-Pearse, Ph.D., lead the HSCI Nervous System Diseases Program. Researchers in this program investigate neurodegenerative and traumatic diseases of the brain and spinal cord. Their goal is to understand exactly which neurons degenerate and why, and how to interfere with the degenerative process to provide a therapy. Their research covers a broad range of disorders, including ALS, Alzheimer's disease, eye diseases, hearing loss, Multiple Sclerosis, and Parkinson's disease.

Skin Program

Led by Markus Frank, M.D., and George F. Murphy, M.D., the HSCI Skin Program aims to discover how to regenerate tissue without scarring. Their research focuses on skin repair and regeneration and has implications for various types of skin cancers.

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