World Conference on Regenerative Medicine ends with record attendance

[idw]

Approximately 1.100 participants from 37 countries attended the World Conference on Regenerative Medicine that took place on October 29 - 31, 2009 in Leipzig. In over 240 lectures leading international researchers exchanged new findings and developments in the field of regenerative medicine. Lectures focussed on stem cell therapies, organ regeneration, tissue engineering, scaffolds, materials and surfaces as well as basic conditions for the translation of therapeutic approaches into clinical practice.





Ian Wilmut, "Father" of the first cloned mammal - a sheep named Dolly, presented the potential and use of induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) in a special lecture during the opening ceremony. Paolo Macchiarini, who caused a sensation in 2008 by successfully transplanting a trachea in a 30 year-old-patient, presented new research approaches from the field of in vivo tissue engineering. Additionally new developments in the legal framework for cell research and cell products in the USA and Europe were discussed.


"The numerous scientific contributions have shown that the field of regenerative medicine has greatly advanced over the past years," said Conference President Prof. Frank Emmrich. "However there is a lot of work to do for researchers, companies as well as regulatory authorities to translate this new knowledge into safe therapies and products for patients."


Regenerative Medicine combines approaches of many different sciences. This was clarified in the numerous satellite symposia: The 1st International Meeting of the Veterinary Stem Cell Consortium presented veterinary approaches for cell therapies. The 4th Fraunhofer Life Science Symposium "Rapid Prototyping und Scaffolds" demonstrated which new possibilities the technology offers for regeneration of tissues and organs. The Forum Bioinformatics focused on current bioinformatic developments and applications, and the HHL Healthcare Challenge 2009 highlighted on start-ups and applied biotechnology in medical research.


The Conference was organized by the Fraunhofer Institute for Cell Therapy and Immunology and the Translational Centre for Regenerative Medicine Leipzig. The next World Conference on Regenerative Medicine will be held on November 2 - 4, 2011 in Leipzig.


Weitere Informationen:
- http://www.wcrm-leipzig.com
- http://www.trm.uni-leipzig.de

Quelle: idw