New technique raises possibility of making all types of blood cells to treat disease

By Nancy Fliesler, Boston Children's Hospital Communications

Harvard Stem Cell Institute researchers at Boston Children’s Hospital have, for the first time,...

In a cross-school collaboration, Harvard researchers Steve McCarroll (left) and Kevin Eggan (right) couple stem cell science with genetics and genomics to advance our understanding of human brain illnesses. Their latest project identified mutations that stem cell...

Co-lead of HSCI's Nervous System Diseases Program Paola Arlotta and postdoctoral fellow Giorgia Quadrato have produced long-cultured brain organoids that have the potential to advance our understanding of...

This scanning electron microscope image shows the T cell-trapping biomaterial up-close with cavities and ducts allowing the entry, as well as movement and binding of autoimmune T cells in its interior. Photo courtesy of James Weaver.

An approach that...

Bone marrow from a young boy diagnosed with Diamond-Blackfan anemia (DBA) shows a reduced number of erythroid precursor cells. In this case, an unusual gene mutation in the hormone EPO was identified and found to cause the anemia...

SMN protein (red) is necessary for the survival of spinal cord neurons (motor neurons) responsible for breathing and all movement. Harvard researchers have found a compound that stabilized this protein in mouse and human motor neurons. This may lead to the development of new...

Adapted from a Joslin Diabetes Center press release

Diabetes researchers have puzzled for decades about why insulin-producing beta cells in one pancreatic islet often look and behave quite differently than their counterparts in the same islet or in nearby islets. Using newly identified cellular markers of aging, Joslin Diabetes Center scientists now have shown that this diversity may be driven at least in part by differently aged beta cell populations within the pancreas. 

Additionally, the Joslin team demonstrated that the aging of beta cells, with associated losses of...

PRESS RELEASE | April 6, 2017

In May, 2017, the service-based gig economy is coming to a lab near you - a paradigm shift that will get its start in Boston's thriving biopharmaceutical ecosystem. As the pool of academic tenure-track positions shrinks, federal research dollars tighten, and pharmaceutical companies and investment firms seek to be more nimble in developing products, a solution is being offered through a platform called LabMate.
 
Conceptualized and developed by Amar Sahay (...

Researchers find a population of skeletal stem cells in mice that when transplanted regrow bone

Adapted from Harvard School of Dental Medicine press release

A recent research finding published in...

Improved delivery vector better penetrates the inner ear, also restores balance in a mouse model of Usher syndrome

Adapted from a Boston Children's Hospital and Massachusetts Eye and Ear press release

Harvard Stem Cell Institute (HSCI) invites applications for seed grant funding for its 2017 cycle. The purpose of this program is to provide funding for innovative projects in the field of stem cell and regenerative biology. As was the case last year, HSCI strongly encourages proposals with a translational focus, or which are otherwise poised to accelerate the development of new stem cell-based therapies or cures. However, proposals at all stages of development are welcome. HSCI intends to award up to ten grants in response to this request for proposals, contingent upon the number and...