This project will help determine how proteins called Girk2 and Girk3 contribute to cartilage formation and repair in the setting of osteoarthritis. The investigators believe that osteoarthritis can be prevented if these proteins are absent or inactive. This work will lead to the development of better strategies to treat osteoarthritis.
Increase student and community awareness of STEM careers, particularly those in regenerative medicine, manufacturing, and engineering. We also want to increase the number of students from diverse populations learning about STEM careers. It is critical to foster students' enthusiasm and interest which will ultimately increase the pipeline of students entering into STEM related majors and eventually the workforce in these extremely important areas.
Youth Activity Books will provide for a set of two activity books (one for K-2nd grade, one for 3rd-5th grade) that target Native American children. To make the content more meaningful and interesting, the books will integrate Native American culture into the activities. The books will have the goal of increasing familiarity and interest of K-5th grade learners regarding 1) science; 2) math; 3) regenerative medicine; 4) health and wellness; 5) biomedical research education and careers.
This module provides outreach and development of science, research, and regenerative medicine curricula for 3rd-12th grade Native American students with the goals of 1) improving the understanding of Native American 3rd-12th grade youth regarding biomedical science and regenerative medicine; and 2) increasing awareness and encouraging interest of 3rd-12th grade Native American youth regarding science education and research career options.
The goal of this project is to establish the infrastructure for the development of chimeric antigen receptor T (CART) cell therapy at the Mayo Clinic. CART cell therapy has emerged as a potent and potentially curative modality for the treatment of cancer. The technology engineers T cells to make them recognize cancer cells and therefore can be a platform used for the treatment of multiple solid and hematological malignancies. The ultimate goal is to develop a regenerative medicine service line using engineered T cells for the treatment of cancer.
We intend to use a new form of genetic correction we’ve developed to correct mitochondrial gene mutations that cause a progressive form of blindness, called Leber Hereditary Optic Neuropathy (LHON), due to optic nerve damage. We believe even partial correction of the genetic defects in the neurons of the optic nerve will allow the nerve to regenerate and stop or reverse vision loss in LHON.
Using the body’s own immune system to combat cancer is a highly promising field, but there have been some serious side effects reported with early methods. Dr. Osborn is working to deliver the powerful cancer-fighting CAR proteins via natural killer cells, cells that normally recognize and destroy tumors without targeting healthy tissue.
Interim report: Patient enrollment continues. Additionally, correlative studies have provided important data on regulatory T cell responses and other markers that give insight to the clinical trial and help strengthen the results.
This grant is in no-cost extension through 2/28/2020.