University of Iowa Stem Cell Group

Information about Stem Cell Research

A young patient with Dr. Fred Goldman of the University of Iowa Stem Cell Group

The Pediatric Bone Marrow Transplant program at the Children's Hospital of Iowa performs stem cell transplants to treat malignant diseases such as leukemia.

Certain congenital disorders caused by a single gene mutation can be treated using stem cell gene therapy. Successful gene therapy has been done for several diseases affecting the immune system, including severe combined immune deficiency.

Researchers at the University of Iowa are investigating the possibility of undertaking this approach for a rare congenital bone marrow failure disorder called Dyskeratosis congenita.

Cardiomyocyte precursors derived from embryonic stem cells

Embryonic stem cells are pluripotent i.e. give rise to all the differentiated cell types in the body. They therefore can form multiple cell lineages and repair damaged tissues under appropriate conditions.

This property provides hope that one day they successfully could be manipulated to produce cells capable of curing currently untreatable diseases, such as diabetes, Parkinsons disease or heart disease.

Epidermal stem cells becoming neuronal cells

Epidermal Stem Cells are multipotent cells located in the basal epithelial layer of the skin. they have been shown to repopulate the epidermis after damage, and to have the potential to regenerate other tissue types. We have shown that the age of the keratinocyte stem cell has little effect on its multipotent capabilites, and thus could be used in translational or clinical cell-based therapies.

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University of Iowa Stem Cell Group