Development of a Stem Cell Tool Box (EuroSTELLS)

NEWS

Read a meeting review of the EuroSTELLS workshop on Stem Cell Niches (January 2008) in Development; Stem Cell Researchers Find Their Niche, published by Tariq Enver and Elaine Dzierzak (EuroSTELLS PIs), Development 2008, 135 (1569-1573).

Stem cells give clues to understanding cancer; make breakthrough in childhood leukaemia
Scientists in Switzerland are uncovering new clues about how cancer cells grow – and how they can be killed – by studying stem cells, ‘blank’ cells that have the potential to develop into fully mature or ‘differentiated’ cells and other scientists in UK have made a breakthrough in understanding the cause of the most common form of childhood cancer, acute lymphoblastic leukaemia (ALL). The research should lead to less aggressive treatment for the disease and could result in the development of new and more effective drugs, an international conference on stem cell biology was told last month - more

Read Nature Biotechology paper on Gene editing in human stem cells using zinc finger nucleases and integrase-defective lentiviral vector delivery, published by Angelo Lombaro, Pietro Genovese, Cesare Galli (EuroSTELLS PI), et al. Nature Biotechnology 2007 Nov;25(11):1298-306. Epub 2007 Oct 28.

Download the Scientific Report on "Challenges in Stem Cell Differentiation and Transplantation", 30 Sep-03 Oct, 2007 in Milan, Italy.

Scientific Goals of the EuroSTELLS Programme

Twenty-one research groups from eleven European countries participate in the EUROCORES Programme on the Development of a Stem Cell Tool Box (EuroSTELLS). The EuroSTELLS Programme aims at generating fundamental knowledge on stem cell biology, setting up the bases for comparative analyses of stem cells of different origins and their clinical application in the future. The ability to isolate, culture and manipulate stem cells ex vivo is a critical step towards elucidating their biological properties and developing their biotechnological and therapeutic potential.

Download Latest EuroSTELLS Brochure (pdf)

By promoting and supporting networking, the EuroSTELLS Programme will foster innovative and multidisciplinary collaborations as well as synergy with other National and European stem cell initiatives, and will contribute to create a critical mass of expertise in the stem cell field in Europe.

Training activities will increase quality assurance and allow harmonization of research tools, definitions and protocols in stem cell biology.

Dissemination will bring together scientists, specialized clinicians, ethicists and legal experts, policy makers, communicators and the general public to discuss developments in the stem cell field and their impact on quality of life and public health.

Projects

Three Stem Cell Collaborative Projects are funded under this programme:

Projects Leaders

Professor Cesare Galli, Laboratorio di Tecnologie della Reproduzione, Cremona, Italy

Professor Elaine Dzierzak, Erasmus University Medical Center, Rotterdam, Netherlands

Professor Stefan Krauss, Rikshospitalet, Oslo, Norway

Last Updated April 2008

Neural rosettes, derived from bovine blastocysts, immunostained for BrdU (red) and phospho-histone H3 (green). From Lazzari et al., Stem Cells,
2006; 24:2514-21.