DascDoc


NATIONAL FACULTY AND RESEARCH GROUPS (* partner in Danish Center for Stem Cell Research)
Aalborg University	*Vladimir Zachar, Assoc. professor, PhD;Trine Fink, Assoc.. professor, PhD, Meg Duroux, Assoc. professor, PhD; Jeppe Emmersen, Assoc. professor, PhD (Peter Ebbesen, Professor, emeritus), Laboratory for Stem Cell Research, The Faculty of Engineering, Science and Medicine: Isolation and enrichment of stem cells from umbilical cord blood and fat tissue; regulation of stem cell differentiation (effect of oxygen-tension); epigenetics and differential gene expression by stem cells (gene display). Tissue engineering of cartilage and cell-based therapy for myocardial failure. Establishment of huamn embryonic stem cells in collaboration with Ciconia Fertility Clinic, Aarhus (4 lines).
Aarhus University	Ernst-Martin Füchtbauer, PhD, Associate professor, Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science: Genetic control of embryonic development muscular dystrophy, mesencymal stem cells from blood vessels (mesoangioblasts), murine embryonic stem cells, genetic modification of mice, using transgene technology and targeted mutagenesis. Lene Petersen , PhD, associate professor jointly appointed by Department of Molecular Biology, Faculty of Science and Clinical Institute, Faculty of Health Sciences: Differentiation of stem and progenitor cells from bone marrow (in situ or mobilized) and umbilical cord blood; trans-differentiation protential of vascular smooth muscle cells; differentiation programs of osteogenic progenitor cells. Use of human xenograft to rodent and in vitro models for tests of reparative effects of mesenchymal cells on myocardial ischemia. New stem cell markers and phosphate/phosphate transporters in signal transduction and differentiation. Retroviral vector and gene transfer technologies. Henrik Løvschall, Assoc professor, PhD, DDS, Department of Dental Pathology, School of Dentistry, Faculty of Health Science: Adult stem cells as reservoir of reparative cells after dental trauma. Focus on molecular mechanisms controlling adult stem cells fate and recruitment of putative stem cell progenitors during repair of tissue injury. Svend Andersen, Professor, dr. theol., Head of Centre for Bioethics and Nanoethics, Faculty of Theology. Stem cell and bio- and nano-research ethics.
Aarhus University Hospitals	Peter Hokland, Professor, dr.med. chief consultant, Dept. of Hematology. Functional genetic and molecular biological characterization of hematopoetic stem cells used in basic research and aiming to optimize autologous stem cell transplantation for patients with leukaemia, myeloma and lymphoma; molecular assays for identification of cromosome changes; oligonucleotid arrays for screening of leukaemia related genes; hematopoetic abilities of human mesenchymal stem cell lines. Erling Falk, Professor, dr.med., Department of Cardiology, Skejby Hospital: Development, stabilization and regression of atherosclerosis, including role and use of circulating endothelial progenitor cells (EPCs). Hans E. Johnsen, Professor, DMSc, Consultant, Department of Haematology, Aalborg Hospital: Identification and characterization of normal and malignal stem cells in human leukemic diseases. Methods for optimization of autoloques stem cell grafts and characterization of malignal stem cells in haematological diseases.
University of Southern Denmark Faculty of Health Science	Jens Zimmer Rasmussen, Professor, dr.med., Morten Meyer, PhD, assoc. prof. Anatomy and Neurobiology, Institute of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences: Neural stem cells from fetal rodent and human and adult rodent brains; isolation, enrichment and differentiation; transplantation to experimental animal disease models; regulation of neural stem and progenitor cell proliferation, migration, differentiation and functional incorporation in vivo and in vitro organotypic brain slice cultures; non-viral transfection (growth factors, cell markers); confocal microscopy. - Neural differentiation of human embryonic stem cells and comparison of human fetal, tissue-derived neural stem cells and neural cells derived from human embryonic stem cells. Charlotte Harken Jensen, PhD, research assoc. professor, Immunology and Microbiology, Institute of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences and Uffe Holmskov, Professor, dr.med. Medical Biotechnology Center, Faculty of Health Sciences: FA1/dlk and gp340/dmbt 1 as differentiation markers for embryonic and non-embryonic stemcells; expression and function in mesenchymal tissue and neural and endocrine systems; production of monoclonal antibody: advanced cell sorting; method development with new markers. - Flowcytrometry-facility (Graham Leslie) Niels Aagaard Jensen, Professor, PhD, Medical Biotechnology Center, Faculty of Health Sciences: Differentiation of nerve and glial cells in the brain; characterization of nuclear transcription factors, production of transgenic mice (pronuclear microinjection, embryonal stem cell technology), fluorescent DNA sequencing, cloning, cDNA and genomic library screening, yeast two-hybrid screens. Bente Finsen , Professor, dr.med. Medical Biotechnology Center, Faculty of Health Sciences: Polulation dynamics and functional diversity of microglia in health and disease. Role of microglia-macrophages and their cytokine products in experimental models of stroke and injury and in neural development. Cellular and molecular mechanisms of myelination processes and de- and remyelination in adult CNS. Søren P. Sheikh, professor, dr.med. Institute of Medical Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences and Head of Department of Biochemistry, Pharmacology and Genetics, OUH. 1) Cardiac myogenesis and regeneration: isolation, propagation and differentiation of cardiac stem cells from murine and human hearts and embryonic stem cells; experimental stem cell therapy in animal models of cardiac injury. 2) Role of microRNA in cardiovascular disease, cardiac remodeling and differentiation of cardiac myocytes: hypertrophic and hypertensive animal models; primary myocardial cell models; microRNA analyses (array, qPCR, ISH) and manipulation in vitro and in vivo.
Odense University Hospital	* Moustapha Kassem, Professor, consultant, dr.med., PhD, Laboratory for Molecular Endocrinology, Department of Medical Endocrinology and Henning Beck-Nielsen, Professor, chief consultant, dr.med., Department of Medical Endocrinology: 1) Mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) potentials (osteoblasts with osteogenesis model and myoblast differentiation); immortalized human MSC lines; generation of lineage specific committed MSC lines with flourescent cell line markers. Clinical applications of stem cells in bone diseases, 2) Pancreatic cell differentiation and developing markers, 3) Derivation of human embryonic stem cells - By May 2007, 6 human embryonic cell lines established, incl. one with known genetic defect, and others under characterization. Henrik D. Schrøder, Professor, consultant, dr.med., Institute of Pathology: 1) Experimental models for muscle degeneration and regeneration incl. muscular dystrophy; in vitro and in vivo characterization and transplantation of myogenic and progenitor cells (satellite cells, side-population cells, other muscle derived cells); optimization and development isolation protocols for myogenic cells and immunocytochemical methods and PCR techniques for protein and gene expession. 2) Experimental studies of human brain tumor (glial tumor) stem cells, incl. tumor stem cell characterization, migration capacity and chemo- and radiation sensitivity. Torben Barington, Professor, consultant, dr.med. and Jan Nehlin*, Assoc professor, med.dr., Department of Clinical Immunology: Immunological profiling of human embryonic stem cells and strategies to down-regulate MHC class I expression in embryonic stem cells and derivations thereof. Søren P. Sheikh, Professor, consultant, dr.med. Department of Biochemistry, Farmacology and Genetics, Lab for Molecular Cardiology
Copenhagen University Faculty of Health Science	Jens Høiriis Nielsen, Professor, dr.scient., Institute of Biomedical Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences: Intestinal and pancreatic stem cells, focussing on endocrine pancreas and beta-cell differentiation; identification of growth and differentiation factors and signal transduction mechanisms (STAT-proteins, pdx/mv); gene transfection and gene expression studies. Hanne Cathrine Bisgaard, Associate professor, lic.scient, Institute of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences: Liver stem cells, experimental liver regeneration with differentiated stem cell induction with comparison to human diseases; classification of regenerative cell types and micro environment by differential expression cloning and micro array techniques; identification of growth and differentiation factors; experimental transplantation. Elisabeth Bock, Professor, Dr.med.h.c. and Vladimir Berezin, Professor, Ph.D., Dr.Sci., Department of Neuroscience and Pharmacology, Faculty of Health Sciences, Copenhagen University:Cell-cell and cell-matrix interaction in the regulation of cell proliferation, differentiation, neurogenesis and inflammation (normal and pathological); characterisation of role of cell adhesion molecules in relation to cancer cell growth and neurodegenerative diseases; Identification of signal transduction mechanisms; Gene transfection and gene expression studies. Ulla Wewer, Professor, dr.med. Department of Molecular Pathology, Faculty of Health Sciences: Extra cellular matrix and matrix-cell interactions in regulation of cell proliferation and cell differentiation (normal and pathologic); tissue development and maintenance in tissue culture; characterizing the laminin-integrin interacting protein ADAM12 in relation to cancer cell growth; human 2 chain laminin and tetranectin in relation to degenerative neuromuscular diseases; cloning; transgenic techniques.
Copenhagen University Faculty of Life Sciences (KU-Life)	Poul Maddox-Hyttel, Professor, dr.med.vet., Department of Basic Animal and Veterinary Sciences: Oocyte maturation, fertilization and early embryonic development in large domestic animals and man. Cellular effects of cloning of animals by somatic cell nuclear transfer; establishment and culture of embryonic stem cells and embryonic germ cells from pig (and cattle); cellular imaging technologies. KU-Life is collaborating with Dept. of Animal Breeding and Genetics, Faculty of Agricultural Sciences, Aarhus University.
Copenhagen University Hospitals	Claus Yding Andersen, professor, vic.ing., dr.med. and Anne Grethe Byskov, Professor, dr. scient., Laboratory of Reproductive Biology, Rigshospitalet: Production and culture of embryonic stem cells from embryos and blastocysts and recieves surplus embryos from a number of fertility clinics. Currently, 17 human embryonic cell lines have been derived and characterised. Extensive experience with production of embryos and blastocysts from both mice and humans. Studies are undertaken describing active signal transduction pathways in undifferentiated embryonic stem cells, their reprogramming activity, and studes on expression of putative differentiation signals. Research also includes studies on primodial germinal cells (PGD). Jens Kastrup, DMSc, Chief Physician, assoc. professor, Department of Cardiology, The Heart Centre, Rigshospitalet. Clinical gene therapy studies with vascular endothelial growth factors and stem cell therapy studies in patients suffering from chronic and acute myocardiac ischemia. Molecular genetic studies on the role of cellular mechanics on angiogenesis with chronic and acute ischemia in human myocardium. Clinical trials focusing on regenerative medicine with autologous mesenchynal stem cells (MSCs) from the bone marrow or adipose tissue. Establishing MSC labelling techniques for short- and long-term cell tracking in patients.
Biomedical Companies
Hagedorn Research Institute, Gentofte	*Palle Serup, PhD, Head of Department of Developmental Biology and Ole D. Madsen, PhD, Director of Rearch: The NOVO Nordic owned research institute is devoted to translational research where knowledge gained in developmental biology is applied in stem cell research with the long term goal to make insulin producing cells for future diabetes treatment. Endocrine differentiation of endodermal cells, focussing on development, growth and maturation of the Langerhans' islands and insulin producing beta-cells; identification of transciption factors, regulating development and gene expression, e.g. Notch/Delta signalling pathways in endodermal and pancreatic development; enrichment of cells for clinical transplantation to diabetic patients.
Bioneer, Hørsholm	Lars Hagsholm Pedersen, Director, PhD, and Holger Riemann, Project manager: Bioneer A/S is an independent, research-based company within biomedicine and biomedical technology, owned by the technical University of Denmark. Bioneer provides companies access to essential technology and biological resources for product and process development. Within the company focus on regenerative medicine, Bioneer is establishing new technologies for protein and nucleic acid based stem cell proliferation and differentiation.
NsGene A/S, Ballerup	*Lars U. Wahlberg, Executive vicepresident, COO, MD, PhD: NsGene is a biotechnology company with a mission to create cell and gene based therapeutics for neurological disorders. The company has discovered several novel gene products with therapeutic potential and effects on stem cells, and is developing a cell based biodelivery system to apply therapeutic gene products to the nervous system. R&D includes development of normal and gene modified neural stem cells, human adult stem cells and progenitor cells for therapeutic use primarily in Parkinsons's and Alzheimer's disease, development of cell differentiation protocols and coupling of fluorescent markers to expression of endogene proteins, marking special cellular development steps or lines.