The University of Miami Miller School of Medicine's Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute (ISCI) has been chosen to a national research network designed to spur the development of stem cell treatments for heart disease and will share in a nearly $5 million grant from the National Institutes of Health.
The UM center will join six other institutions as part of the Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network (CCTRN), a federally supported national network designed to drive public advances in heart disease treatment. The University of Florida in Gainesville, Fla., was also named to the network.
"This is an exciting and pivotal time for the University of Miami, for ISCI and for the seven universities," said Director Joshua M. Hare, M.D. "Our goal at ISCI is to spearhead the development of cell-based therapies for a host of untreatable diseases."
As part of the network, Dr. Hare's team is proposing a groundbreaking clinical trial to find out whether stem cells can be used to strengthen hearts weakened by a certain type of congestive heart failure.
In addition to the UM center and the University of Florida, the other centers joining the network are Stamford University, Texas Heart Institute, Indiana University, the University of Minnesota and the University of Louisville.
Those interested in learning more about heart disease trials currently underway at ISCI should contact Study Coordinator Darcy Velazquez at 305-243-9106.
More info: UM Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute
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