Grant: Collaborative Health Research Projects (NSERC partnered)

Pluripotent stem cells are a promising tool for future applications in human therapeutics. Their ability to contribute to potentially all tissues and organs in the human body makes them highly valuable for tissue engineering, organ replacement, and pharmaceutical research. The culture conditions in which pluripotent stem cells are derived and maintained still contain animal or human blood products that are of potential risk for recipients, as they may contain viruses, bacteria or other harmful bioactive molecules. Our research project will develop new synthetic protein-coated polymers as attachment and growth matrices for human pluripotent stem cell cultures. These chemically defined substrates will eliminate the risk of pathogen transmission in subsequent human pluripotent stem cell applications, providing an important step towards safe, clinical grade culture products for human stem cells. Moreover, our synthetic polymers will be more cost-effective, standardized and reproducible than existing methods. Since it is now possible to generate patient-specific stem cell lines, our technologies will assist future personalized therapies for patients suffering from chronic conditions like arthritis, diabetes, or heart disease. Four out of five Canadians at a risk to develop degenerative chronic diseases, and therefore our technologies have strong potential to indirectly improve the health of Canadians. Canada is among the world leaders in human stem cell research. Our strongly translational research project will be of great benefit for the Canadian commercial stem cell sector and will train highly qualified personnel with interdisciplinary expertise and professional skills immediately relevant to Canada's growing biotechnology and regenerative medicine sectors.