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Dr.
Andras Nagy
SENIOR
INVESTIGATOR
In
June 2005, Dr. Andras Nagy put Canada on the map of stem cell research
by establishing the country’s first – and to date only – human
embryonic stem cell lines. On March 1, 2009, Dr. Nagy once again
captured the world’s attention with another stem cell research
breakthrough: the discovery of a new non-viral method of creating stem
cells from other cells of the body that could lead to possible cures
for devastating diseases including spinal cord injury, macular
degeneration, diabetes and Parkinson’s
disease.
Previous approaches to establish stem cells
from adult cells required the use of viruses to deliver the required
genes, a method that carries the risk of damaging the DNA. Nagy’s
method not only does not require viruses but the stem cell transgenes
necessary for the process of reprogramming can be seamlessly removed
after they created stem cells. Therefore this method overcomes a major
hurdle for the future of safe, personalized stem cell therapies in
humans. Nagy’s new method of generating stem cells does not require
embryos as starting points and could be used to generate cells from
many adult tissues such as a patient’s own skin
cells.
Nagy’s research is a huge step forward on the
path to new stem cell-based therapies and indicates that researchers at
the Lunenfeld are at the leading edge of regenerative medicine.
Regenerative medicine enables the human body to repair, replace,
restore and regenerate its own damaged or diseased cells, tissues and
organs.
Joining Mount Sinai Hospital in 1988, Dr.
Nagy has been involved in mouse embryonic stem cell research since its
early days. His research resulted in an important development in cancer
research in 1996 that provided a new tool for researchers and
pharmaceutical companies to test new and existing treatments for
cancer.
Dr. Nagy has developed a broad spectrum of
genomic technologies now used around the world. These technologies
assist the study of gene function in development and disease, and are
important tools in the development of stem cell based therapies. By
using technologies to direct gene expression, scientists will gain
control of stem cell behaviour, propagation and differentiation – which
will be essential if stem cells are to be used to treat human
disease.
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