McGill researchers receive Stem Cell Network funding 

Natasha Chang, Assistant Professor, Department of Biochemistry, has received $300,000 in funding from the Stem Cell Network (SCN) in support of a project targeting muscle stem cell dysfunction. Chang is the Principal Investigator of the project which also includes the collaboration of researchers from Montreal, Spain and France.

The funding is part of a $19.5 million investment by SCN in 32 projects across Canada, announced on May 12. The investment is the largest in SCN’s history, made possible through increased funding by the Government of Canada in 2021.

Stem cells have traditionally fuelled the field of regenerative medicine which is focused on regrowing, repairing or replacing damaged or diseased cells, organs and tissues. Stem cell therapies have been used to treat blood cancers such as leukemia for many years, but they hold extraordinary promise to one day treat rare and chronic disease and life-altering illnesses such as type 1 diabetes, heart disease, kidney disease, and neurological disorders such as Alzheimer’s disease.

Three McGill researchers are co-investigators in a project being led by Vardit Ravitsky. from the Université de Montréal. The project, titled Responsible Pathways for Pediatric Cell Therapies, will include the collaboration of:

• Jonathan Kimmelman, James McGill Professor in the Biomedical Ethics Unit / Social Studies of Medicine, and Director of Biomedical Ethics Unit
• Bartha Knoppers, Canada Research Chair in Law and Medicine and Director of the Centre of Genomics and Policy.
• Ma’n Zawati, Department of Human Genetics in the Faculty of Medicine and Health Sciences, and Executive Director of the Centre of Genomics and Policy, is collaborating in two SCN-funded projects.

Zawati is also one of the co-investigators in a project titled Examining engineered hematopoietic stem cells as vehicles for next generation therapies. The Principal Investigator is Guy Sauvageau from the Université de Montréal.

Knoppers is also one of the co-investigators in a project titled Combining tissue-engineered skin with ex vivo gene therapy correction to develop a treatment for epidermolysis bullosa. The project’s Principal Investigator is Lucie Germain, of the Université Laval

Read the Stem Cell Network press release.

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