University of Minnesota regenerative skin research gets boost from $2.4M grant

Ambitions to grow healthy new skin for patients disfigured by burns or diseases received a boost Tuesday with a $2.4 million private grant to University of Minnesota researchers.

A team at the university’s Stem Cell Institute has already had success in taking stem cells from patients’ skin, correcting genetic deficiencies if necessary, and then coaxing them to produce healthy skin tissue. The next step is creating a biological scaffold that helps direct stem cells to the sites of wounds or injuries and grows new skin in the right locations and proportions.

“We think we can restore health in conditions that have been, or are still, without effective therapy, or have been deemed incurable altogether,” said Dr. Jakub Tolar, director of the institute, who is leading the skin regeneration research.

http://www.startribune.com/university-of-minnesota-regenerative-skin-research-gets-boost-from-2-4m-grant/322234671/