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Interview

Prof. Anders Lindahl discusses his work in AutoCRAT in ATMP World Tour segment

University of Gothenburg PI Professor Anders Lindahl introduced and interviewed Bernard Siegel, JD for an ATMP World Tour 2024 segment. The piece aired on April 23rd, 2024.  As a recognized policy expert on stem cell research, regenerative medicine and cloning, Mr. Siegel works with leading stem cell researchers and advocates. After the presentation titled, “Baby Eve and Legal Advocacy” an interesting discussion ensued where Anders gave a top-level description of his work within AutoCRAT.

Watch the video here.

This year’s ATMP world tour program hosted 12 speakers over three days, live-streamed April 23-25, 2024. The programme was built to favour discussion over presentation and was recorded and available to view for 1 month following the event. See the full program here. Don’t miss it!

Prof. Anders Lindahl discusses his work in AutoCRAT in ATMP World Tour segment2024-05-01T09:25:05+00:00

A warm AutoCRAT welcome to Helen Jinton at the University of Gothenburg!

Helen Jinton

Welcome to our newest AutoCRAT member, Helen Jinton who is based at the University of Gothenburg within Professor Anders Lindhal’s research group. Danielle Nicholson at Pintail Limited asked Helen some questions to become acquainted with her and her work.

Where did you grow up? Was there something or someone there that encouraged your interest in science?

I grew up in Mölndal, just outside Gothenburg. It almost counts as a part of Gothenburg, depending on who you ask. I did not really have anyone who specifically encouraged my interest in science. It’s just something I’ve always found interesting.

What and where did you study at university?

I’m a Biomedical scientist and did my Bachelor of Science in Biomedical laboratory science at the University of Gothenburg. I have also previously studied biology at the University level. I did my bachelor’s thesis at the Institute of Biomedicine, University of Gothenburg with Kristina Vukusic as my supervisor. Kristina is one of the researchers responsible for the AutoCRAT project here in Gothenburg.

Describe your work and the techniques/methods/technologies you plan to use in your work for AutoCRAT.

Before starting to work in Anders Lindahl’s group here at Gothenburg University, I worked at the Clinical Pathology lab at Sahlgrenska University Hospital. There I learned how to perform tissue preparation, paraffin embedding, tissue sectioning and so forth. During my bachelor thesis, I learned how to perform immunohistochemistry with three different antibodies, as well as fluorescence microscopy plus image processing.
My work for AutoCRAT revolves mainly around the sheep study that is currently ongoing. I will be doing most of the laboratory work with tissue preparation, sectioning and staining. I will also photograph the individual tissue sections and process the images in a program called Image J.

In your opinion, what is exciting about working on the project?

For me, it’s very inspirational and, of course, educational to be a part of such a large project. I’m still contemplating whether I’m going to pursue a master’s degree and eventually a Ph.D. To see how these kinds of projects work is interesting and, like I said before, inspirational.

What do you like most about living in Gothenburg?

Gothenburg is the perfect large city, which still has this kind of small-town vibe. I’ve lived here my entire life and I think it’s a great city, but I may be a little bit biased.

How do you like to spend your free time?

I spend a lot of my free time at the stable. I’ve been involved with equestrian sport for a long time, and have been competing a little in show jumping. I’m also a photographer, where I mainly do landscape and nature photography. The rest is spent with family and friends.
A warm AutoCRAT welcome to Helen Jinton at the University of Gothenburg!2023-09-22T12:50:25+00:00

Professor Mary Murphy, AutoCRAT Coordinator, reflects on her career in regenerative medicine and academic research

The Coordinator of AutoCRAT, Professor Mary Murphy, spared some time to reply to a set of questions we posed to celebrate her career successes. Mary is a Professor of Regenerative Medicine and a Principal Investigator at the Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI) at the University of  Galway in Ireland. Her research interests focus on the biology of stem cells and the development of innovative medicines and tissue engineering solutions for osteoarthritis and bone repair.

Can you give a tip or two to those aiming to become successful, leading academic researchers?

Prof. Mary Murphy

Professor Mary Murphy

To become a leading academic researcher, one has to really try and focus on research very early in their career. This is of course sometimes difficult as academics, particularly in Ireland, will have contracts that focus on teaching quite strongly as well as contributions to the university itself. However, if the particular person has had a successful postdoctoral career with some papers published, and in particular papers published in high-impact journals, they can become a very successful researcher. However, I can say for certain that it takes long hours certainly beyond what is usual for an academic. In terms of tips for achieving these aims:

          • start early
          • think of aiming to do a PhD in a very successful lab where 1) mentoring is available and 2) the possibility of moving on to a post-doctoral position in an associated laboratory, but in a slightly different area if possible and
          • a focus on positions to add to skills.

What are some of the ways your research changed from 1995 to 2023?

My first position in the area of cell therapy was as a doctoral researcher in the first stem cell company worldwide based in Baltimore, Maryland, USA. This was a very exciting time in the field and certainly jumpstarted my career as a researcher and ultimately as an academic focusing on the area of Stem Cells Research. There is no doubt that there have been many changes since I first entered the lab, where all work was performed manually. As such, progress was slow. Looking back it is clear that the field has moved on in a way that I never anticipated but working in the area Galway enabled the continuation of a career in the area and maintaining a strong research presence in the area of cell therapy.

In terms of ways that the research has changed, in one sense it has changed very little because the basic techniques are the same. However, in another sense, it has changed radically, particularly with the introduction of automation and newer and more complex equipment enabling the achievement of the same ends more rapidly. For example, automation for manufacturing ATMPs such as stem cells or gene-modified stem cells, as well as their secretome/extracellular vesicles has allowed us to continue to generate novel research findings in the field. This effort was enabled by two sequential European Union (EU)-funded projects, Autostem (Grant agreement ID: 667932) initially followed by AutoCRAT which is still in progress.

What is the biggest challenge you face within research today?

Continuing to obtain sufficient funding for research activities is one of the biggest challenges that researchers face. Funders such as the European Union continuously assess areas that they fund and themes change.  For example, funding for research in stem cell and gene therapies has reduced somewhat and researchers need to adapt rapidly to address the funding calls that become available. Another challenge in Ireland currently is that researchers trained in the area of stem cell or gene therapies are very employable with graduates employed by companies established in Ireland or further afield.

Which of your career achievements make you feel most satisfied?

In reality, these are also associated with research and training of researchers. The latter is probably the point that I am most proud of, but this is closely linked with the capacity to actually maintain the funding to train the researchers. As such, both could be put on an equal footing.  Additionally, I am also proud of the publications that we have achieved in the area and the fact that these are relevant, which is highlighted by the level of citations that have been achieved.

In your opinion, what is most exciting about osteoarthritis and MSC research today? What has enabled this progress? What is necessary to progress this further?

In our area, I think the most exciting advance in cell therapy is the use of induced pluripotent stem cells and their derived secretome–extracellular vesicles (EV).  If successful in the treatment of OA will certainly have a quicker translation through to actual patient use. Again, this is something we are looking at on AutoCRAT – making some progress but will be necessary to continue to look for more funding.

How is AutoCRAT important to the REMEDI/Curam at the University of Galway?

In terms of relevance to the University of Galway, AutoCRAT has enabled the training of early researchers and increased publications maintaining the profile of both REMEDI (Regenerative Medicine Institute) and Curam (https://www.universityofgalway.ie/curam/).

What do you like to do in your free time?

I love to garden and live in an area of considerable beauty (Connemara), hiking and walking when time is available. I also maintain an interest in sports, especially camogie and hurling.

Professor Mary Murphy, AutoCRAT Coordinator, reflects on her career in regenerative medicine and academic research2023-08-14T16:11:48+00:00

Meet Dr Matilde Balbi, working with Professor Chiara Gentili at UNIGE

Dr Matilde Balbi

We welcome our newest team member, Dr Matilde Balbi, based at the University of Genoa in Professor Chiara Gentili’s research group. Danielle Nicholson at Pintail Limited asked Matilde questions to become acquainted with her and her work.

Where did you grow up?

I was born and grew up in Genoa.

What and where did you study at university?

I am a pharmacist. I studied at the University of Genoa. As soon as I completed my internship for the experimental thesis, I realized that I would prefer to work behind a bench in a laboratory than in a pharmacy, despite the motivating work experience in a pharmacy when I was a Master’s student.

What was the nature of your PhD project? Where did you do this research?

I did a PhD in Experimental Medicine in the Pharmacology and Toxicology curriculum at the University of Genoa with a thesis entitled: “Group I metabotropic glutamatergic receptors regulating glutamate release and microglia phenotype in a murine model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis”. During my PhD, I spent some time at the University of Lausanne for a pilot research project on the role of astrocytes-derived extracellular vesicles in microglial activation. In the meantime, I have had the chance to collaborate with Prof. Uccelli’s research group to study the neuroprotective effect of extracellular vesicles secreted from mesenchymal stem cells on astrocytes in an in vitro model of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.

What is your role in AutoCRAT? Describe your work and the techniques/methods/technologies you plan to use.

Since the beginning of the postdoc in AutoCRAT in June, I started a new cell expansion of iMSC SD1, 2 and 3 to recover extracellular vesicles at early (P8) and late phase (P16) to analyse miRNA content. Extracellular vesicles are validated with FACS testing positive (CD90-CD105-CD44) and negative (CD31-CD34-CD45) markers. I extract extracellular vesicles from iMSC SD1 P11-12 to test their therapeutic potential on organ culture in collaboration with LUMC.

In your opinion, what is exciting about working on the AutoCRAT project?

It is exciting for a young researcher to be able to work on a European project and challenge myself with a topic far from my neuropharmacology background. The project involves many collaborations with different research groups that use different techniques and methods to try to give answers to the heterogeneity that characterizes a pathology such as osteoarthritis. The constant comparison between research groups is of great value.

What do you like most about living in (or near) Genoa?

Living in Genoa offers the possibility of having a territory that varies from the mountains to the sea. This allows you to range with the activities to do in your free time and to see contrasting landscapes in a few kilometres.

How do you like to spend your free time?

I love sports: I gladly jog along the sea, hike and ski but  I also go to the swimming pool or gym, especially in autumn and winter.

Meet Dr Matilde Balbi, working with Professor Chiara Gentili at UNIGE2023-08-08T14:44:25+00:00

PI Prof. Dr Bernd Giebel speaks with ISCT about his research with MSC-EVs

Prof. Dr Bernd Giebel of Universitaetsklinikum Essen recently sat down with Ashley Krull of the International Society for Cell & Gene Therapy for a spotlight interview. Here, they discuss the potential of MSC-EV therapeutics and many other topics.

“New Year, New Promise for EVs”

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PI Prof. Dr Bernd Giebel speaks with ISCT about his research with MSC-EVs2023-01-12T15:01:53+00:00

Welcome Dr Tanja Kutzner, postdoc at the Universitaetsklinikum Essen

Dr Tanja Kutzner

Introducing Dr Tanja Kutzner, a postdoc in the lab of Prof. Dr Bernd Giebel at the University Medicine Essen. Tanja joined the AutoCRAT project recently and attended the June plenary meeting hosted by the University of Gothenburg. Tanja kindly provided a short bio below. Welcome aboard!

Since May 2022 I have been working in my second postdoc position as part of Bernd Giebel´s lab at the University Hospital of Essen and I am also a team member of AutoCRAT. Having the opportunity to work with an international team of experts, and investigate the therapeutic potential of specific cell types and their EVs to develop new therapeutic options to treat patients makes the AutoCRAT project especially interesting for me. Within the AutoCRAT team, I am concentrating on the development and optimization of downstream processes for EVs.

I am born in Bielefeld a city in the west of Germany. I studied molecular biotechnology at the University of Bielefeld, where I also completed my diploma and my PhD thesis. My diploma thesis was focused on establishing and optimizing purification protocols for a novel human serpin followed by its characterization. In my PhD thesis, I concentrated on the isolation, characterization and phylogenetic comparison of serpins.

For my first postdoctoral position, I moved to Munich and worked at the Ludwig-Maximilians-University. During this time, I was dealing with the implementation, optimization and standardization of upstream- and downstream processing procedures mainly for recombinant proteins produced in different organisms.

I like to spend my free time in nature and with my family and friends. I also love to go biking or swimming and read a good crime novel. Some of my favorite authors are Simon Beckett, Alex Kava, Nele Neuhaus and Sebastian Fitzek.

Welcome Dr Tanja Kutzner, postdoc at the Universitaetsklinikum Essen2022-07-13T09:51:07+00:00

‘Stamceller kan bli behandling för vanlig ledsjukdom’

Prof. Anders Lindahl, Foto: Elin Lindström

On May 20th, 2022, the University of Gothenburg School of Medicine published an online feature story, Stem cells can be a treatment for common joint disease, showcasing their role and research within the AutoCRAT project. In it, readers will find a lay summary of the work of AutoCRAT scientists, Dr Kristina Vukusic and Dr Josefin Ekholm and Prof. Anders Lindahl.

Read the story in Swedish (English translation available) here: https://www.gu.se/forskning/stamceller-kan-bli-behandling-for-vanlig-ledsjukdom

‘Stamceller kan bli behandling för vanlig ledsjukdom’2022-06-07T12:14:13+00:00

Please meet Prof. Dr Anders Lindahl, University of Gothenburg

In cell culture, Dr Kristina Vukusic and Prof Dr Anders Lindahl, U of Gothenburg.

Prof. Dr Anders Lindahl, PI at the University of Gothenburg (UGOT) kindly answered a set of questions posed by Danielle Nicholson, Pintail Limited in advance of our upcoming meeting in Sweden. Special thanks to Dr Kristina Vukusic, UGOT who helped facilitate this.

How and when did you first become interested in cell biology?

My interest in cell biology started early in my MD studies. Subsequently, I became interested in longitudinal growth and the growth plate during my PhD studies and my experimental work was focused on chondrocyte cell cultures. I was inspired by the clinical use of cell therapy during my postdoc stay at Harvard in the mid-1980s at the Department of the late Professor Howard Green who developed skin cell culture for burn treatment.

 

What is it about chemistry that interests you most these days?

Since I have clinical training in Clinical Chemistry my interest is mainly in the early diagnostics of diseases and with a special interest in the identification of predictive biomarkers for osteoarthritis.

 

What do you see as the biggest challenge to the cell therapy and cartilage repair field right now?

The biggest challenge is to implement the new technology in clinical settings and to do well-performed clinical studies to get these new cell-based therapies registered on the market in the future. The regulatory environment for small companies and academic researchers as well as the reimbursement systems for cell therapies is however challenging.

 

Please describe your group and facilities.

The group now consists of 6 researchers and 2 PhD students. We collaborate The research facility is in the Department of Laboratory Medicine at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, and we have excellent facilities for molecular and cellular research in the Clinical Chemistry laboratory where the group is situated.

 

Your work seems incredibly varied: supervising PhD students, grant writing and admin, lab work, and travel. Which aspects do you enjoy most?

I enjoy most the scientific discussions and testing new ideas and hypotheses. It is always energizing to see the curiosity in young students’ eyes and get all these questions. They get you to feel older but wise too sometimes.

 

For how long have you been in Gothenburg at the university?

I have been a professor since the year 2000 and I have been working as a laboratory director for 10 years. The research facilities are excellent and the collaboration with colleagues at the Sahlgrenska Academy is both easy and rewarding. During the years the network of collaborations has grown big. The tight work of clinicians with researchers and implementation of cross-scientific new technologies such as 3D printing opens up for future personalized medicine.

 

Talk us through your group’s role in AutoCRAT, please.

Our role in the project is to establish a protocol for the derivation of chondrocyte progenitors from induced pluripotent stem cells, to produce cells and secreted vesicles for future regenerative treatment for patients with cartilage defects. Furthermore, we provide adult chondrocytes for comparison and their extracellular vesicles. Since we have over 30 years of experience in Autologous Chondrocyte transplantation we can help with GMP knowledge for cell therapy production. We will also conduct large animal studies here in Gothenburg in the last year of the project, testing the efficacy of our derived cells and their secreted vesicles.

 

What do you find most exciting about the AutoCRAT project?

The project is an international collaborative project between several institutions in Europe and the International work collaboration is very interesting and adds new technologies to the cell biology field. Among other things a robotic production system with advanced monitoring of cell cultures. We are very curious about the outcome of the final product and the therapeutic potential of secreted vesicles from different cell types.

 

Had you worked with Professor Mary Murphy or any of the partners before AutoCRAT?

I have known the group of Mary Murphy and other researchers in AutoCRAT for several years, but we have not had the chance to project collaborations together before. Mary is a great leader and the UGOT team is appreciating the open and familiar atmosphere in the AutoCRAT. We are happy to host the meeting and to welcome all dear collogues to our beautiful Gothenburg.

 

What do you like to do in your free time?

Walking in nature year-round, even in the sometimes tough Swedish weather. Skiing in the winter, mostly in Norway, and boating here on the Swedish West Coast in the summer. I live by the seaside and can´t think of living elsewhere.  I love dogs and have had dogs for over 50 years although not now but I am taking care of my daughter’s dog when needed.

Please meet Prof. Dr Anders Lindahl, University of Gothenburg2022-05-31T10:48:09+00:00

Meet the Women in AutoCRAT: Leiden University Medical Center’s team

Prof. Ingrid Meulenbelt

Prof. Yolande F.M. Ramos

Danielle Nicholson, Pintail Limited spoke with Leiden University Medical Center Profs. Ingrid Meulenbelt and Yolande F. M. Ramos via Zoom to kick off our series of interviews with women researchers in AutoCRAT.

Danielle: Ingrid, Yolande, thank you for agreeing to speak with me about your work and congratulations on the publication of your recent paper. That’s really exciting news and very important for AutoCRAT.

Danielle: What is your assessment of the current state of osteoarthritis (OA) treatment and care?

Ingrid: It’s quite poor. There’s not much out there for people with OA. They are suffering from pain and problems in mobility already at 55 years of age and onwards. There is nothing for them yet so they are being almost patronized by the offer of physiotherapy and then painkillers. They are kept in a patched-up state until they are eligible for joint replacement surgery from about 70 years of age. This is currently the only disease-modifying treatment that we have right now. I think particularly the people with OA between 55 to 70-years of age who are still part of the workforce do not have any real options. In that respect, care is minimal. We know this from our patient and public participation arthritis group (PPA-Leiden). These people are searching the web for any treatment out there, something that they can do themselves. There is a lot of false hope.

Danielle: Why did you establish the PPA group?

Ingrid: Initially, it was the funding agencies in the Netherlands who believed that it was important to involve patients in research project design. But once we started the PPA group, we realized it was a highly valuable exercise for us and for the PhD students to engage with the patients because we are not medical doctors. The group provides an additional dimension to the work we are doing. This is an enrichment forwards and back. The group helps us to communicate our fundamental research, especially our abstract -omics work, in an understandable way.

Danielle: With regards to your recent publication, “Cartilage from human‑induced pluripotent stem cells: comparison with neo‑cartilage from chondrocytes and bone marrow mesenchymal stromal cells” Cell and Tissue Research, July 9th, 2021 its graphic (below) gives a helpful snapshot of the study design. It is a great tool to communicate the results to non-specialists.

Ingrid: It also helps us make the protocol for the medical ethical committee which inputs into the patient information leaflet.

Danielle: Can you please talk a bit about your research group and your roles within it? Where are you situated?

Ingrid: I’m the Head of the OA Research Group at the LUMC. Yolande is the most senior researcher in my lab and in that respect, she is also partly in charge of the staffing and guides the PhD students. She also does research in the lab. She is my right hand in that respect.

We are situated in the Research Tower next to the LUMC. In the OA Group, apart from Yolande, there are 3 more senior researchers, and we have 7 PhD students and a technician. We are situated within the Biomedical Data Science Department, a result of my background in genetic epidemiology. I started off trying to determine the genes that are causing OA. We gained an in-depth understanding of this in part due to the benefit of the data science people around us. When we identified a couple of the genes that we thought were interesting and could be involved in the underlying pathophysiology of OA we shifted focus to try to determine the function of these genes. What were these genes doing in the cartilage tissue? This work made us realise if you want to do functional work you need tissues to work with. This was why we started the Research in Articular Artrose Kraakbeen RAAK study, for OA articular cartilage research: https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0103056). Because we are near the hospital, we can obtain materials from people that undergo joint replacement surgery as a result of OA. If a patient is undergoing joint replacement surgery in the morning, we get a call when the surgery is finished. From the surgical waste material, we can obtain cartilage and bone, but also cells. We create molecular profiles from the cartilage and bone, as in AutoCRAT, and with the cells, we generate disease models. We tried to regenerate cartilage and bone from the cells that we took from the patients. Because we wanted a more sustainable source of cells, we started with stem cell research, employing Yolande’s cell biology expertise. We evolved from a molecular, cellular, and genetic epidemiological group to a much more fundamental biological group. This combination of molecular epidemiology, -omics and cell biology has made our OA group stronger in research proposals. In AutoCRAT, we use our cell biology expertise with stem cells and combine this with -omics data to determine the mechanisms of action of the cells involved.

Danielle: What is your favourite aspect of your work?

Yolande: My work is very diverse: there is never a dull moment. No two days are ever the same. One day, I could take part in an interview, another I am talking to patients. Then, I am going to the lab to check my cells. I never have the same day twice. Science fascinates me, and as a result, the work is fulfilling.

Ingrid: Our work is dynamic and you are at the forefront of what is known, but the pitfall of what we do is that the work is never finished!

Danielle: The LUMC are ahead of the cellular therapeutics curve in many ways. What are some practical hurdles that must be overcome to make cell therapies widely available?

Ingrid: I try not to think too much about it yet. If you are realistic, and you speak with other people then we have a long way to go. Our OA group are still working quite fundamentally in that sense. As soon as we think about cell therapies with iPSCs, we need to have GMP facilities, GMP cells, cleanrooms and the regulatory rules! It is unbelievable what we must do. This is not something we can do as a small group.

As for the new centre, ​​NECSTGEN (Netherlands Centre for the Clinical Advancement of Stem Cell and Gene Therapies), it is being built. It is a large institute. The idea is beautiful- a forward-planning institute, nearby, linked to LUMC and that could take care of the facilities and legislation that we would need for human studies and therapies.

Yolande: In research such as in AutoCRAT, one uses a lot of animal-derived reagents. When you shift to developing a therapy for humans, as part of the GMP and because we are accustomed to the animal-derived reagents, the alternative reagents could make the experiments and therapies much more expensive. This is another hurdle.

Danielle: In your opinion what is the most exciting aspect of AutoCRAT?

Yolande: For me, it is really exciting that so many partners within Europe aim at one same research goal. Together, we combine knowledge capacity and practical expertise to arrive at one outcome- for the patient. There is a really good synergy among the partners, and this helps to advance toward this aim together!

Ingrid: I agree, and indeed, the project has a very open atmosphere without any competition, we are pushing forward and aiming for that one goal! There is always competition going on in the field, at various levels. Mary is doing a good job to connect us and make sure we are collaborating without being protective of the work we are doing.

Danielle: What do you like to do in your free time in and around Leiden?

Ingrid: Well, I do not live in Leiden but close by, near the sea. I really enjoy being by the shore, running near the dunes and enjoying these things with everyone I love.

Yolande: I live in Amsterdam. I just love the cultural environment there. I love visiting museums on the weekends, walking around Amsterdam, enjoying the architecture and the parks.

Danielle: Do you have any advice for Early Stage Researchers looking to get into cell therapy research?

Ingrid: Don’t let others get you down. Don’t let yourself get too distracted by the grant-writing and all of the other things you will need at the end. Enjoy the dynamics of the field.

Danielle: Thank you both for meeting with me and sharing your thoughts. This is the next best thing to a face-to-face meeting which I hope will happen before too long passes!

Meet the Women in AutoCRAT: Leiden University Medical Center’s team2021-10-28T19:46:08+00:00

Welcome to the AutoCRAT team, Dale Creaven, PhD candidate at NUI Galway

Danielle Nicholson of Pintail Limited caught up with Dale Creaven, an AutoCRAT PhD student at the National University of Ireland Galway (NUI Galway). Dale took some time to tell us a bit about himself and his work. Dale works under the supervision of AutoCRAT Coordinator Professor Mary Murphy.

Dale Creaven

Galway born and bred

I started in NUI Galway in 2015 in their Access course and completed a Diploma in foundation studies receiving the highest grades possible. “NUI Galway’s Access Programmes provide an opportunity for students who are generally under-represented at third level to progress to University.”  So, with this Diploma and my grades, I was offered a place in the prestigious Bachelor of Science Biomedical Science, with my area of focus being Anatomy in Galway. After completing my undergraduate degree, I progressed to a Masters of Science in Regenerative Medicine in NUI Galway; this is where I met Prof Mary Murphy, AutoCRAT Coordinator.

I am from Galway. There isn’t much more to say about that; I have lived in Galway my whole life, and luckily NUI Galway focuses on Biosciences, an area I always knew I wanted to study. I therefore stayed and attended college here in Galway.

My PhD project 

The title of my PhD project is Generation and characterization of induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells (iMSCs); cell and secretome analysis. This project aims to compare iMSCs differentiated from iPSCs with particular emphasis on the secretome by various methods, like surface markers and gene expression. The main aim is to examine the secretome signature of iMSCs and identify its association with cell function. I will be performing PCR for molecular and genetic analyses, and flow cytometry to examine the surface markers of iMSCs. Also, I will work with cell culture to grow the iPSC and the iMSCs.

Impact of COVID-19

COVID-19 has impacted my undergraduate degree, masters research, and I am sure, it will affect my work with the AutoCRAT team, particularly with access to lab time and space. COVID-19 has reduced the number of people who can access a building at any time, including my access. Busy days in the lab will result from a reduction of lab time.

Dissemination plans

I have yet to present any aspect of this project. However, I am looking forward to it when I get the chance. I hope to publish in relevant scientific journals with high impact factors. I also hope to use social media as a platform to disseminate my work. Being one of the first generations to grow up with social media, I hope to use that to spread any good news.

Who doesn’t want to give a TED talk at some point in their lives? However, I hope to give talks at relevant events, for example, the OActiveProject conference where Prof Mary Murphy recently presented.

Outside of work

Well, in the last year and a half, not a lot has happened. To be honest, I am a bit of a nerd (I hate to admit it), but I love science and how it explains the world. I have a keen interest in nature and animals. I am a movie/TV/book nerd. I have played basketball in a semi-professional, national league in Ireland and have played with NUI Galway and my high school, St. Marys College in Galway.

Thank you very much for your time, and best of luck with your project.

Welcome to the AutoCRAT team, Dale Creaven, PhD candidate at NUI Galway2021-05-25T15:01:07+00:00

Fraunhofer IPT’s work in AutoCRAT features in MEDICA magazine and trade fair

Messe Düsseldorf featured Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology‘s work in robotics and automation within AutoCRAT in their September 2020 Smartlab series of stories and videos. In June 2020, the media firm interviewed Jelena Ochs and Ferdinand Biermann for the news pieces and films which were produced in both German and English. The films were shown at the MEDICA Fair which took place online  November 16-19, 2020. Over 45,000 professional unique users from 169 nations visited the virtual event. International online visitors to the event made up 78% of the attendees. These activities provided important stimuli for the healthcare economy.

We wish to thank editors Timo Roth and Natascha Mörs, and Herr Marc Pettenkofer at the camera who came to the AutoCRAT laboratory at Fraunhofer IPT in Aachen to create the recordings and conduct the interviews.

Read the feature stories in MEDICA magazine in German and in English. View the short films in German and in English below.

 

 

 

Fraunhofer IPT’s work in AutoCRAT features in MEDICA magazine and trade fair2021-03-09T12:40:24+00:00

Interview with Jelena Ochs, Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology

Danielle Nicholson of Pintail Limited posed a few questions to Jelena Ochs of the Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (IPT) to gain her views on her work in automation research and development and AutoCRAT, in general.

Jelena Ochs

Jelena Ochs

Based in Aachen, Germany, The Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (https://www.ipt.fraunhofer.de/) is part of the Fraunhofer-Gesellschaft, Europe’s largest application-oriented research organisation. Within the business area “Life Sciences Engineering” their focus is on the research and development of pioneering technologies for the entire range of life sciences from the pharmaceutical industry and biotechnology to medical technology.

Please introduce yourself and tell us about your role within Fraunhofer IPT.

I am a technical biologist by training and I am with Fraunhofer IPT for more than four years now. I am also a research fellow in the automation in life sciences group and leading and coordinating project work on automation of bioprocesses.

Fraunhofer IPT is a leader in production technologies. Can you give us an overview of what the institute will provide in the context of AutoCRAT?

IPT has been working on laboratory automation for many years. This means exploring the question of how can we build robot-assisted laboratories that automate entire process chains, leaving minimal intervention necessary from the operator. We have been successfully applying this also for ATMP (Advanced therapy medicinal products) production (see AUTOSTEM, www.autostem2020.eu), where we produce mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) in a robot-assisted, bioreactor-based process. For AutoCRAT, we will provide our existing infrastructure and expertise to:

    • extend automated processes towards the production of different cell and regenerative therapeutic products (induced pluripotent stem cells, or iPSC),
    • adding a quality control (QC) module for at-line process control and
    • enhancing the systems capabilities by making it even smarter and more functional (e.g. letting the robot clean the chamber instead of having a human operator to climb into the system).

In the end, we will have three modules (one for cell production, one for QC and one for extracellular vesicle (EV) purification) that are capable of producing a range of different cell types relevant for advanced therapies.

You have worked with several of the AutoCRAT partners in other projects, for example, AUTOSTEM. How is this an advantage?

We can build on what we have established – both physically and in terms of non-material achievements. For example, we will build on the AUTOSTEM pipeline to optimize and extend the system and exploit the findings from previous projects.

Also, interdisciplinary projects are a lot about communication. It takes certain effort for an interdisciplinary group to start speaking the same language, e.g. engineers have to understand requirements and specificities of cell culture, where living products are produced, while biologists and clinicians have to start thinking about standardization, automation and translation of processes that can be handled by robots and automated equipment. It is important that biologists and engineers work towards each other and not past each other.

IPT has been working in interdisciplinary teams for many years, but it is always an advantage to have a group where good communications and a joint understanding has been already established.

Interview with Jelena Ochs, Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology2020-06-08T12:10:32+00:00
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