AMES, Iowa – The ability to generate a patient’s blood cells in order to treat blood diseases has eluded scientists for years, but a recently awarded federal grant could help Iowa State University scientists take critical steps toward turning that possibility into reality.
Raquel Espin Palazon, an assistant professor of genetics, development and cell biology, leads an interdisciplinary research team examining a genetic pathway triggered when cells undergo inflammation due to injury or infection. Espin Palazon said the genetic pathway also plays an important role in the development of blood stem cells, or undifferentiated cells with the potential to develop into all human blood cell types.
The researchers received a 5-year, roughly $2 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to build on their work studying the pathway both in human cells and in zebrafish, and Espin Palazon said the work shows great potential to spark new advances in regenerative medicine.
Read more about the grant here.