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Partner in the Spotlight

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

Fraunhofer IPT hosts the AutoCRAT consortium’s final meeting

Partners assembled in Aachen, Germany from all points of Europe to meet AutoCRAT partners for the final plenary meeting. The two-day gathering took place on April 11th and 12th, 2024. Special thanks to Ferdinand Groten and Laura Herbst for the warm hospitality, commodious conference room, guided Old Aachen stroll and the piece de resistance- the Fraunhofer IPT facilities tour. Here, we were treated to a demonstration of the robotic AutoCRAT  system in action. A video showcasing the automated platform is currently being produced.

Much data was shared and publication plans were discussed. We were pleased to see all partners’ results lining up to support a robust pre-clinical proposition to pursue a clinical trial in the near future.

Many partners will be attending the OARSI meeting in Vienna. If you are attending, please visit their posters and presentations.

Fraunhofer IPT hosts the AutoCRAT consortium’s final meeting2024-04-15T08:02:16+00:00

Dr Vikusic presents AutoCRAT preliminary results at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg

On March 7, 2024, the University of Gothenburg‘s Dr Kristina Vikusic delivered an engaging talk to the Rheumatology Department at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg, Sweden.  The talk included an overview of osteoarthritis and the differentiation of iPS cells to induced chondrocytes and showed some preliminary AutoCRAT results from the ongoing sheep study.

The audience of 35 in-person and 15 online asked many questions.

Dr Vikusic presents AutoCRAT preliminary results at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg2024-03-08T08:51:45+00:00

Dr Kristina Vukusic presents AutoCRAT research at ATMP Sweden meeting in Uppsala

The annual ATMP Sweden 2023 meeting took place on December 5th and 6th, 2023 in Uppsala. Dr Kristina Vukusic of the University of Gothenburg presented the group’s AutoCRAT results in a poster titled “Development of Cell-Based Products for Cartilage Repair.”

ATMP Sweden is the national network of Sweden’s activities within medicines based on genes, cells or tissue engineering, classified as Advanced Therapy Medicinal Products (ATMPs) in Europe. Their goal is to promote the collaboration and communication needed for accelerated, effective ATMP-based patient solutions.

Dr Kristina Vukusic presents AutoCRAT research at ATMP Sweden meeting in Uppsala2023-12-07T13:14:16+00:00

Prof. Barry delivers Don Panoz Distinguished lecture in Dublin

The School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences at Trinity College Dublin and the National Institute for Bioprocessing Research and Training (NIBRT) proudly hosted the Inaugural Don Panoz Distinguished Lecture featuring Professor Frank Barry, from the University of Galway entitled, “Hearts and Knees: Cellular Therapies in Cardiac and Musculoskeletal Applications‘, took place on Tuesday 24th October 2023.

Read more details here.

Don Panoz Distinguished Lecture by Dr Frank Barry.
Fennell Photography 2023

Prof. Barry delivers Don Panoz Distinguished lecture in Dublin2023-12-04T16:42:09+00:00

Professor Barry presents AutoCRAT at Biotherapies Days conference in Toulouse

Professor of Cellular Therapy at the University of Galway, Frank Barry presented two keynote lectures at the Biotherapies Days conference in Toulouse, France on November 23 and 24, 2023. The first of these, entitled MSC Therapy: Present Challenges and Future Opportunities addressed topics of cell manufacturing automation closely aligned to the AutoCRAT theme. The second keynote,  entitled MSCs as Mediators of Tissue Repair: Understanding The Mechanism of Action addressed aspects of basic science and therapeutic mechanisms.

Find the 2-day conference programme here.

 

Professor Barry presents AutoCRAT at Biotherapies Days conference in Toulouse2023-12-04T15:53:30+00:00

Prof. Meulenbelt, LUMC will present AutoCRAT data at knee OA public event in Leiden

On 23 September 2023 from 12:30 to 17:00, AutoCRAT PI Professor Ingrid Meulenbelt, LUMC will present her work within AutoCRAT as part of an osteoarthritis information afternoon organised by the orthopaedics department of the Alrijne Hospital outpatient clinic in Leiden, NL. This event aims to help people understand and cope with the challenges of knee osteoarthritis, as well as share the latest information and treatment options.

Orthopaedic surgeons Joris Jansen and Hugo Brouwers will give a presentation. Prof. Meulenbelt will present the latest cartilage studies and possible treatments in the near future, including her group’s stem cell therapy data. Around 200 patients are expected. Finally, Physiotherapist Maarten de Fockert (Physiotherapy Ommedijk) will explain the importance of continuing to move in a healthy way with images and practice. Together with lifestyle intervention expert Mariska Aanhane-Melissen, this promises to be an interactive session.

To view the programme and register to attend, click here.

 


Prof. Meulenbelt, LUMC will present AutoCRAT data at knee OA public event in Leiden2023-08-28T10:34:39+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

AutoCRAT in Genoa

The AutoCRAT team gathered in Genoa, Italy on the 2nd and 3rd of February 2023 for our latest plenary meeting.

We discussed recent results and plans for the project in the beautiful, Universita Degli Studi di Genova buildings in the historic heart of the city. Our key studies into the therapeutic effect of AutoCRAT products are taking shape and the build of the AutoCRAT platform continues in Aachen.

Sincere thanks to the team from UniGe who hosted the meeting and facilitated some productive discussions. We are looking forward already to the next in-person meeting in late Summer/Autumn 2023.

 

AutoCRAT in Genoa2023-02-10T16:06:06+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

Congratulations to our partners at Fraunhofer IPT for the latest AutoCRAT publication in the journal Processes

“Additively Manufactured Robot Gripper Blades for Automated Cell Production Processes”, a journal article prepared by our partners at Fraunhofer Institute for Production Technology (IPT) was published in the MDPI’s Processes on October 14th, 2022.

Congratulations to researcher-authors Ferdinand Biermann, Stefan Gräfe, Thomas Bergs and Robert H. Schmitt!

Citation: Biermann, F.; Gräfe, S.; Bergs, T.; Schmitt, R.H. Additively Manufactured Robot Gripper Blades for Automated Cell Production Processes. Processes 2022, 10, 2080. https://doi.org/10.3390/pr10102080

Download the open-access paper here.

Congratulations to our partners at Fraunhofer IPT for the latest AutoCRAT publication in the journal Processes2022-10-17T15:14:29+00:00

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences acquires Valitacell

Congratulations to our partners at Valitacell!

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, a global leader in laboratory automation and innovation, announces it has acquired ValitaCell Ltd. (“ValitaCell”), the biotechnology company that creates pioneering analytical products and technologies for the biopharmaceutical industry.

The announcement was made today, September 13th, 2022.

“ValitaCell has a proven record for delivering innovative products and we are excited to build upon our successful partnership with Beckman Coulter Life Sciences,” said Dr Jerry Clifford, Co-Founder and CEO of ValitaCell. “We never take for granted what our advancements can do for patients while also reducing manual workflow burdens on laboratory staff. Together with Beckman Coulter Life Sciences, we will advance our shared ambition to accelerate and enable the sustainable manufacture of innovative biological medicines to bring them to market faster.”

Read the official press release here.

Beckman Coulter Life Sciences acquires Valitacell2022-09-13T14:09:17+00:00

Gothenburg welcomes AutoCRAT!

The AutoCRAT consortium met up in the Wallenberg Conference Centre at the University of Gothenburg on the 16th and 17th of June, 2022. Partners presented recent work and results and made plans for the next 6 months. In particular, the team discussed expected results from initial preclinical studies due in the coming weeks. These initial results will help us design the next preclinical studies to be undertaken in the project. At the end of the meeting, partners were able to undertake a tour of the facilities on site.

We were very pleased to meet in person once again. This enabled fruitful, impromptu discussions over shared meals and during the breaks throughout the meeting.

Many thanks to the team at UGOT, our gracious hosts, who made it such a worthwhile and enjoyable meeting!

Gothenburg welcomes AutoCRAT!2022-06-22T08:18:25+00:00

AutoCRAT poster wins award at XI Meeting Stem Cell Research Italy

An award-winning poster titled: ‘Long-term serial passage and differentiation capacity of human induced pluripotent stem cell-derived mesenchymal stem cells’ by authors Cansu Gorgun, Elisabetta Palama, Chiara Gentili of UNIGE, and Georgina Shaw and Mary Murphy of NUI Galway was presented by Dr Cansu Gorgun at the XI Meeting Stem Cell Research Italy.

The meeting took place on June 8th-10th, 2022 in Genova, Italy. Congratulations on the prize for the ‘Best Poster’!

AutoCRAT poster wins award at XI Meeting Stem Cell Research Italy2022-07-11T07:07:03+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

AutoCRAT consortium assembles for plenary meeting in Aachen, DE

The AutoCRAT team came together on 25 and 26 November 2021 for a “hybrid” plenary meeting.

In-person attendees were hosted in Aachen, Germany by Fraunhofer IPT. Other members of the team joined online. The meeting was held as we received confirmation of approval of our Month 18 report. Partners had an opportunity to update the consortium on recent results and discuss plans for the next phase of the programme. The in-person attendees also enjoyed a tour of the platforms and facilities on-site in Aachen, which was of particular benefit for the partners transferring AutoCRAT processes into automation.

Many thanks to the team at Fraunhofer IPT for hosting the meeting.

AutoCRAT consortium assembles for plenary meeting in Aachen, DE2021-11-29T16:54:23+00:00
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