International meet on stem cells to be held in Chennai on Oct 9

Thursday, October 07, 2010 08:00 IST
Our Bureau, Chennai

The fifth annual international meet on Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine (NCRM NICHE 2010), will be held in Chennai on October 9, in commemoration with the fifth anniversary of Nichi-In Centre for Regenerative Medicine (NCRM).

World renowned Neurosurgeon and Stem Cell Scientist Dr Satoshi Kuroda, Hokkaido University, Japan, who has become very popular after his recent finding that autologous bone marrow stem cells with polymer scaffolds could successfully produce more neural stem cells in stroke conditions, will deliver lecture on autologous bone marrow stem cell therapy potentials for stroke victims.

Spinal Cord Injury due to accidents and cerebrovascular stroke otherwise called the 'brain attack' leave the victims paralyzed without definite treatments. Recent evidences show the safety of adult autologous stem cells for which appropriate expansion techniques and scaffolds are essential.

The plenary session will be inaugurated by an eminent scientist, Prof. Yoshikazu Kurosawa from Fujita University, Japan, who will share his knowledge on the latest hot topic in cancer treatment using antibodies in which his team has accomplished globally renowned pioneering work after having developed more than 55 human monoclonal antibodies against human cancers.

The antibody based cancer treatments have already been started in developed nations and professor Kurosawa’s antibody based technology in collaboration with NCRM’s Autologous Immune Enhancement Therapy (AIET) is expected to further improve the outcome of cancer treatment for patients in India, said Dr Samuel Abraham, director, NCRM.

There will be a panel discussion in the evening in which a group of experts will debate their findings on dental stem cell research done in India and the results of autologous bone marrow stem cells in cervical spinal cord injury patients, which were jointly accomplished with NCRM and their collaborating Indian and Japanese Institutes.

The Fujio Cup Quiz on Stem Cells & Regenerative Medicine is held for the Fifth time this year in which medical and biotech students from all over the country are participating. The valedictory session will be graced by the Consul General of Japan in Chennai, Kazuo Minagawa.