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| Backgrounder: The Daley Lab |
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June 6, 2006
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| George Daley, MD, PhD |
The Children's Hospital Boston laboratory of George Q. Daley, MD, PhD, is a leader in the embryonic stem cell field. Its 25 scientists are working toward understanding the basic science of embryonic stem cells, the development of blood-forming or hematopoietic tissue, the development of germ cells (primitive cells in the embryo that give rise to sperm or eggs), and the mechanisms by which leukemia becomes resistant to therapy.
Daley and collaborators have accomplished a number of stem-cell "firsts":
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- Daley's lab was the first to transform mouse embryonic stem cells (ESCs) into hematopoietic (blood) stem cells. [Proc Natl Acad Sci 2005 Dec 27; 102(52):19081-6; Cell 2002 Apr 5; 109(1):29-37.]
- With Rudolf Jaenisch at the Whitehead Institute, Daley was the first to combine ESCs with gene therapy, introducing corrective genes into mouse ESCs to treat mice with immune deficiency [Cell 2002 Apr 5;109(1):17-27].
- Daley's lab was the first to transform ESCs into a continuously growing line of embryonic germ cells, and also to create primitive male sperm that were capable of fertilizing an egg -- creating embryos with full sets of chromosomes. This work was cited by Science Magazine as a "Top Ten" breakthrough for 2003. [Nature 2004; 427: 148-154; Epub 2003 Dec 10.]
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George Q. Daley, MD, PhD. Daley is internationally recognized as an expert in stem cell research and for his work in Chronic Myeloid Leukemia (CML), a cancer of the blood caused by genetically defective stem cells. His current research is aimed at translating insights in stem cell biology into cellular therapies for degenerative, malignant and genetic diseases.
Daley received a PhD in Biology from MIT, working with Nobelist David Baltimore. He received his MD from Harvard Medical School, where he was only the twelfth individual in the school's history to be awarded the degree summa cum laude. He has been elected to the American Society for Clinical Investigation and has received awards from Harvard Medical School, The National Institutes of Health, the New England Cancer Society, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the Edward Mallinckrodt, Jr. Foundation, and the Leukemia and Lymphoma Society of America recognizing his contributions to medical research.
Daley was recently named an inaugural winner of the NIH Director's Pioneer Award, which provides a five-year unrestricted grant to pursue highly innovative research. He is president-elect of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR), and chairs the ISSCR Research Task Force on guidelines for human embryonic stem cell research.
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| Matthew W. Lensch, PhD, and Akiko Yabuuchi, PhD, work in The Daley Lab at Children's Hospital Boston. |
Paul Lerou, MD. Lerou, a fellow in newborn medicine at Children's Hospital Boston, is interested in nuclear transfer and reprogramming, the development of germ cells (primitive eggs and sperm) and early embryonic development. He is hoping this knowledge can aid scientists in deriving human embryonic stem cells and developing combined genetic and cell-based therapies.
Kitai Kim, PhD. Kim, a cell biologist, is using SCNT (somatic cell nuclear transfer) to create mouse models of human blood diseases, and is exploring new ways to create embryonic stem cells that are immunologically compatible for transplantation.
Akiko Yabuuchi, PhD. Yabuuchi is among the world's leading experts in nuclear transfer and on experimental methods that enhance the efficiency of nuclear reprogramming and derivation of stem cells.
Matthew W. Lensch, PhD. A fellow in Children's Division of Hematology/Oncology, Lensch is a specialist in medical genetics. He is using human embryonic stem cells to study Down syndrome and anemia, disorders associated with blood cancers in children.
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Contact:
Bess Andrews
617-355-6420
elizabeth.andrews@childrens.harvard.edu
Children's Hospital Boston is home to the world's largest research enterprise based at a pediatric medical center, where its discoveries have benefited both children and adults since 1869. More than 500 scientists, including eight members of the National Academy of Sciences, nine members of the Institute of Medicine and 11 members of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute comprise Children's research community. Founded as a 20-bed hospital for children, Children's Hospital Boston today is a 347-bed comprehensive center for pediatric and adolescent health care grounded in the values of excellence in patient care and sensitivity to the complex needs and diversity of children and families. Children's also is the primary pediatric teaching affiliate of Harvard Medical School. For more information about the hospital and its research visit: www.childrenshospital.org/research.
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