Through research projects on stem cell engineering for regenerative medicine, the MIT Portugal Program addresses the development of novel therapies for an aging society, and their clinical implementation. This is complemented with work on pioneering medical devices in the health sector that are designed to improve daily life. About Our ResearchRegenerative Medicine aims at improving the length and quality of life by restoring, maintaining, or enhancing tissue and organ function. It merges different fields, including stem cell research, biomaterials development, and tissue engineering. A variety of novel approaches are used to address tissue/organ insufficiency, including stem cell-based therapies for the regeneration of damaged tissues, tissue-engineered implants, and bio-hybrid organs to replace tissue function. Stem cells in particular have the ability to self-renew and to differentiate into cells that are found throughout the body. The possibility of using stem cells and their differentiated progenitors to treat numerous degenerative disorders has stimulated great interest in developing safe transplantable sources of stem cells able to repopulate damaged tissues. MIT Portugal research in the area of stem cell engineering for regenerative medicine addresses stem cell-based therapies and tissue engineering for treatment of hematological diseases; neurodegenerative diseases; bone, skin and cartilage disorders; vascularization of ischemic tissues; and urinary tract repair. It is targeted to: i) improve basic understanding of the fundamental processes that control stem cell activity and their differentiation; ii) enhance technologies involved in isolation of stem cells from adult tissues, expansion of those cells in vitro, differentiation, and transplantation protocols; iii) develop novel biomaterials and surfaces able to elicit specific reactions to cells, supporting cell growth and differentiation and organizing cells into tissues; and iv) design specific motifs at different length scales to improve functionality of tissue-engineered constructs. Future research will use the following Human Stem Cell model systems: hematopoietic stem/progenitor, mesenchymal stem, embryonic stem, induced pluripotent stem and vascular progenitor cells. Possible areas of inquiry include the following: - New large-scale bioreactors and processes, including ex-vivo free-serum culture conditions, for the maintenance and expansion of long-term transplantable human stem cells, as well as their differentiated progeny to mass-produce human cells ensuring their availability for cell-based therapies
- High-throughput screening platforms for stem cell research and drug screening
- Engineered innovative scaffold biocompatible materials, including a new generation of biomimetic biomaterials and nanobiomaterials, for 3-D stem/progenitor cell and functional human tissue-like substitutes, using microfabrication and nanofabrication technologies
- Engineered and targeted controlled-release delivery systems for stem cells
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