Stem cell research is one of the latest currents to hit the world of science, and with the creation of a new state-funded research project at Columbia, the University is among the institutions following the trend.
The interdisciplinary nature of stem cell research at Columbia—drawing upon research in such diverse fields as biomedical engineering, biology, computer science, and physics—gives students access to the field from a number of backgrounds, professors say.
Research into stem cells, which are characterized by their ability to become a variety of different types of cells, has allowed scientists to transform the cells into tissue- or organ-specific cells.
“Eventually, these cells will be utilized with other advanced technologies to repair or replace organs and tissue in human patients,” said Gordana Vunjak-Novakovic, a professor of biomedical engineering and a leading figure in Columbia’s stem cell research initiative. As the population ages, regenerative medicine becomes increasingly important, she added.
In 2008, Vunjak-Novakovic led a group of 26 researchers from six different departments to establish the project, called the Functional Imaging Core for Stem Cell Research. The Core, funded by a $1 million grant from New York State Stem Cell Science, which “works to assist advances in stem cell biology related scientific discoveries,” according to its website, is made up of a set of top-of-the-line equipment, available to all faculty and students.
In 2009, the researchers also obtained more than $200,000 in funding for the planning of a Stem Cell Consortium, a community of stem cell researchers at the Columbia University Medical School.
“As the promise of stem cells for regenerative medicine strategies gains greater momentum, our ability to perform better and more quantitative studies will be important,” Clark Hung, a professor of biomedical engineering, said of the importance of having the most up-to-date technology. “The idea is that we can do things better than before and maximize the information that we can get from our studies.”
Vunjak-Novakovic said she chose to come to Columbia partly because she saw an opportunity to build a program in a budding field—and the program has come to fruition in recent years. The two grants paved the way for the creation of two new courses in the spring of 2009: an undergraduate course called Advanced Microscopy, taught by biomedical engineering professor Elizabeth Hillman, and the graduate-level seminar Seminar in Stem Cell Biology, taught by a team of four professors, including Vunjak-Novakovic and Hung. The classes were created so that students could be brought up to date with new research developments and connected with leaders in the field.
“It is very dynamic because the field is developing so quickly,” Vunjak-Novakovic said of teaching stem cell biology. This renders the use of conventional textbooks unreliable, she added.
“I find the field very exciting,” Amandine Godier-Furnemont, SEAS ’09 and current SEAS graduate student, said.
She is currently enrolled in the graduate seminar and noted that during her undergraduate years, there were few courses geared specifically toward stem cell research.
“I got to know the field through my independent research,” she said, “although as a biomedical engineer, I learned about some specific tissue-engineering applications of adult stem cells in my tissue-engineering course.”
Vunjak-Novakovic said that as the field develops, more courses could be added.
Ultimately, Godier-Furnemont said, it is necessary to incorporate stem cell research into the curriculum as its use becomes more widespread.
“Huge advances are being made with stem cells very rapidly, and it would be great for students to become more familiar with this increasingly important field.”
hien.truong@columbiaspectator.com
An earlier version of this article misspelled Amandine Godier-Furnemont's name. Spectator regrets the error.
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