WPI faculty receive skin cell patent
Two Worcester Polytechnic Institute faculty members were granted a patent for a technology they developed that converts human skin cells into generators of wound healing and tissue regeneration.
Faculty members Raymond Page and Tanja Dominko were awarded a patent in March for a technology that allows skin cells or cells from other tissues to be cultured and then replicated for long periods of time, causing the cells to express genes and proteins usually associated with stem cells. The technology works without inserting viruses or foreign genes into the cells, which were previously thought to have a short life span once they exited the body.
Page and Dominiko were inspired by the ability of amphibians to regenerate limbs after traumatic injury and studied the molecular processes of embryonic development and cell differentiation to see if human cells could be pushed to do the same.
Their research could accelerate cell therapies for serious medical conditions, including diabetes, heart attacks and other traumatic injuries, according to WPI.
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