August 2017
Graca Almeida-Porada and Chris Porada, Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine (WFIRM) faculty and research members, have been awarded their second (R01) grant to support their research on the inherited blood disorder Hemophilia A (HA).
This award will enable them to pursue their research hypothesis that using an intrauterine stem cell transplantation (IUTx)-based strategy to treat HA will overcome the two major shortcomings that have been observed following factor replacement therapy and current gene therapy approaches to treat the disease: namely, a lack of sustained anti-hemophiliac factor FVIII expression and immunologic responses to the therapeutic protein.
Hemophilia A is an ideal disease to be treated by IUTx, the researchers said, because 75 percent of HA cases can be diagnosed through prenatal screening. IUTx could be curative, or at least convert severe HA to a moderate or mild phenotype, significantly reducing the need for FVIII infusions.
The researchers’ hope is that the successful completion of these pre-clinical studies will prove the safety and efficacy of using stem cells as a FVIII delivery platform, demonstrate the ability of IUTx to cure or improve HA phenotype and defeat the immune-related hurdles that currently hinder clinical HA treatment.
Dr. Chris Porada Awarded Grant Proposal by NASA for Research on Health Risks Associated with Space Travel
March 2017
Six new proposals divided among four universities will use open-access spaceflight research data available via NASA’s GeneLab to understand how living systems adapt to the environment in space, and how that knowledge can be applied to better understand systems here on Earth. Read the full article.
Dr. Anthony Atala Awarded 2016 Smithsonian Magazine American Ingenuity Award in Life Sciences
December 2016
Julio Alemán Recognized as Innovator Under 35 Central America 2016 by MIT Technology Review
November 2016
When Julio Alemán talks about "humanizing pharmaceutical trials," he is referring to creating platforms (or chips) which accurately reflect the function of human organs. Read the full article.
Dr. Anthony Atala, MD, Honored as 2016 Innovator of the Year by R&D Magazine November 2016
R&D Magazine has announced the winners of the 54th annual R&D 100 Awards, an international competition that recognizes the 100 most technologically significant products introduced into the marketplace over the past year. Read the full article.
Sean Murphy, PhD, Recognized as Winston<40 Leadership Award Winner
October 2016
The Winston-Salem Chamber and its young professional program, Winston Under 40, announce the Winston<40 Leadership Awards. These awards recognize outstanding individuals who excel in their field and actively influence the growth, prosperity and quality of life in in Winston-Salem and Forsyth County.