Suche
Mein Konto
EU funds Cologne stem cell project with millions for eye medicine!
The University of Cologne will receive over 4 million euros for the EU-funded STEM-CORE project to promote biomedical research and training.
EU funds Cologne stem cell project with millions for eye medicine!
The EU is investing heavily in research into human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiLSCs) for ophthalmology. Over four million euros will flow into the STEM-CORE project, which is based at the Center for Ophthalmology at the University Hospital of Cologne. This financial support comes under the Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) and is part of Horizon Europe, the EU's flagship funding program for doctoral training. With this measure, the EU aims to expand European research and innovation capacities and train excellent researchers.
The STEM-CORE project brings together ten academic partners from nine EU countries and has two main objectives. On the one hand, the aim is to promote young scientists, and on the other hand, the focus is on the development of new, safe therapeutic approaches for ocular stem cell diseases. This includes improving the regenerative ability of limbal stem cells as a solution to treating limbal deficiency, which can lead to blindness. Such a therapy could make a decisive contribution to combating corneal blindness and significantly improve the quality of life of many sufferers.
Research and training in focus
STEM-CORE also places great emphasis on comprehensively training the next generation of biomedical researchers. By promoting innovations in the field of ocular regenerative medicine, careers in this important research field are to be shaped. Dr. Maria Notara and Univ.-Prof. Dr. Claus Cursiefen, both experienced researchers in the Collaborative Research Center (SFB) 1607, are leading the project. It is planned that STEM-CORE and the SFB 1607 will have a positive influence on each other.
A central aspect of stem cell research is the ability of stem cells to transform into different cell types or tissues. This is particularly relevant for the treatment of degenerative diseases. While embryonic stem cells are considered pluripotent and can develop into all human body cells, research on hiLSCs focuses on the renewal of tissues and their clinical application. The reconversion of specialized body cells into pluripotent stem cells (iPS), for which the Nobel Prize was awarded in 2012, enables the development of important disease models outside of patients, which is of considerable benefit for medical research.
Challenges and perspectives of stem cell research
In order to advance the medical use of stem cell technologies, numerous hurdles must be overcome. These include methodological, technical, safety-related and approval-related challenges. The Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF) is funding various measures that address these obstacles under the “Innovative Stem Cell Technologies for Individualized Medicine” program.
The BMBF's measures include two modules. Module “Therapy” aims to develop and standardize reprogramming strategies needed for clinical trials. The “Model and Test Systems” module promotes the development of in vitro disease models. In addition, ethical, legal and social aspects of stem cell research are examined through ELSA research (Ethics, Legal and Social Aspects) in order to shed light on the social implications of these technologies.
In addition, the history of stem cell research is closely linked to important personalities such as Marie Curie. Marie was born Maria Sklodowska in Warsaw in 1867 and was committed to her education despite the difficulties. Their scientific contributions and achievements, particularly in the fields of chemistry and physics, left a lasting impression and continue to advance the education of scientists worldwide. The Curie legacy is therefore also part of the support for young scientists within the framework of programs such as STEM-CORE.
By combining European collaboration, innovative training opportunities and the use of cutting-edge technologies, the STEM-CORE project promises to make a significant contribution to stem cell research and the development of new therapies for eye diseases. This could not only strengthen the research landscape in Europe, but also bring significant progress in the field of personalized medicine.