The Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CRM) is a stem cell research centre at the

University of Edinburgh The University of Edinburgh ( sco, University o Edinburgh, gd, Oilthigh Dhùn Èideann; abbreviated as ''Edin.'' in post-nominals) is a public research university based in Edinburgh, Scotland. Granted a royal charter by King James VI in 15 ...

in Scotland, dedicated to the study and development of new regenerative treatments for human diseases. The centre forms part of the university's Institute for Regeneration and Repair and is part of the BioQuarter cluster at

Little France Little France is a suburb of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. It is on the A7, approximately south of the city centre. The area falls within the parish of Liberton in the south-east of the city. It acquired its name from members of the ent ...

History

The University of Edinburgh's history in stem cell research dates back to the early 1990s. Under the leadership of Austin Smith, the university's Centre for Genome Research became the first Institute of Stem Cell Research (ISCR) in the UK. The CRM was formed in 2008 as a merger of ISCR scientists with scientists from the University's College of Medicine and Veterinary Medicine, an initiative directed by

Ian Wilmut Sir Ian Wilmut, OBE FRS -- FMedSci FRSE (born 7 July 1944) is an English embryologist and Chair of the Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine at the University of Edinburgh. He is best known as the leader of the research group that in 1996 ...

. From 2008 to 2020, the centre had MRC status. Charles ffrench-Constant became the 2nd Director of CRM in 2010; he was succeeded by Stuart Forbes in 2015. , the CRM had attracted £55 million in research funding.

Research

The centre is home to 26 research groups; group leaders include

Clare Blackburn Catherine Clare Blackburn is a British biologist. She received her Bachelor of Science degree at University of Edinburgh in 1984 and her PhD at Imperial College London in 1991. Following Wellcome Trust fellowships at the Walter and Eliza Hall I ...

, Ian Chambers, Charles ffrench-Constant, Stuart Forbes, Dónal O'Carroll and

. , the CRM employs 300 scientists. Conditions being researched at the CRM include multiple sclerosis and

heart The heart is a muscular organ in most animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to t ...

and

liver disease Liver disease, or hepatic disease, is any of many diseases of the liver. If long-lasting it is termed chronic liver disease. Although the diseases differ in detail, liver diseases often have features in common. Signs and symptoms Some of the si ...

. On 25 August 2014, the centre grew the first working organ, a

thymus The thymus is a specialized primary lymphoid organ of the immune system. Within the thymus, thymus cell lymphocytes or ''T cells'' mature. T cells are critical to the adaptive immune system, where the body adapts to specific foreign invaders. ...

, from scratch inside an animal. In 2019, the centre published the first in-human trial of a macrophage therapy for liver

cirrhosis Cirrhosis, also known as liver cirrhosis or hepatic cirrhosis, and end-stage liver disease, is the impaired liver function caused by the formation of scar tissue known as fibrosis due to damage caused by liver disease. Damage causes tissue rep ...

CRM building

The CRM building was officially opened by the

Princess Royal Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been se ...

on 28 May 2012. Designed by

Sheppard Robson Sheppard Robson (previously Richard Sheppard, Robson & Partners ) is a British architecture firm, founded in 1938 by Sir Richard Herbert Sheppard, with offices in London, Manchester, and Glasgow]. It was particularly influential in the 1950s– ...

, the building is part of a total £600 million

joint investment A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to access ...

in stem cell biology and medicine by the Scottish Government and the University of Edinburgh. The CRM building is also home to applied scientists working with the

Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service The Scottish National Blood Transfusion Service (SNBTS) is the national blood, blood product and tissue provider. It makes up a Strategic Business Unit of NHS National Services Scotland (NSS). History The first dedicated transfusion service ...

and Roslin Cells. It contains laboratory and support space, a company incubator unit, and a clinical translation unit which enables the production of cells at

Good Manufacturing Practice Current good manufacturing practices (cGMP) are those conforming to the guidelines recommended by relevant agencies. Those agencies control the authorization and licensing of the manufacture and sale of food and beverages, cosmetics, pharmaceut ...

(GMP) grade. CRM spinout companies include Cellinta (developing gene therapies for cancer) and Resolution Therapeutics (developing cell treatments for liver damage).

References

External links

CRM Homepage
{{authority control 2008 establishments in Scotland Biomedical research foundations Biotechnology in the United Kingdom Biotechnology organizations Infrastructure completed in 2012 Medical research institutes in the United Kingdom Organisations supported by the Scottish Government Research institutes in Edinburgh Stem cell research University of Edinburgh

History

Research

CRM building

See also

References

External links