PRESS RELEASES
3 March 2009
British Embassy Berlin hosts UK-German Workshop on Regenerative Medicine
The British Embassy in Berlin is hosting the UK-German Regenerative Medicine Workshop & Poster Exhibition today. This has been jointly organised by the UK National Stem Cell Network (UKNSCN), Regenerative Medicine Initiative Germany (RMIG) and the British Embassy Berlin, supported by a number of UK and German partners. The workshop marks the first high level meeting between the two national networks that seek to promote the stem cell research and regenerative medicine. The UK’s Research Councils alone spent some £36.7 million on stem cell research in 2007/08.
The aim of the meeting is to showcase the latest and best research on stem cells, tissue engineering, biomaterials and regenerative medicine in Germany and the UK. A primary objective of the workshop is to facilitate networking between UK and German researchers and to identify areas for collaboration. Some 80 scientists and company representatives will discuss stem cell research - primarily adult and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells), approaches to bringing innovative cell therapies into the clinic and tissue engineering and biomaterials. The workshop also provides an overview of existing and planned funding initiatives to promote stem cell science and regenerative medicine in the UK, Germany and the EU.
Professor Chris Mason, member of the UKNSCN Steering Committee and co-founder of the London Regenerative Medicine Network, is chairing the workshop. In his opening speech on Tuesday he has underlined that Germany and the UK were both amongst the world leaders in regenerative medicine – with distinct and complementary strengths, adding that Germany’s strengths in tissue engineering, adult stem cells and, more recently, iPS cells make it a collaborator of choice for UK researchers in these fields.
ENDS
Contact
UKNSCN
Ben Sykes, UKNSCN Coordinator, Tel: +44 (0) 1793 414676
E-mail: uksa@uknscn.org
Regenerative Medicine Initiative Germany
Tel: +49-30-450539400
Fax: +49-30-450539902
Mobile: +49-179-1471289
E-mail: joeri.borstlap@charite.de
Further information
The United Kingdom National Stem Cell Network (UKNSCN) was established in 2006 as an independent national body for the promotion of research across the sub-disciplines of stem cell science and to act as the national focal point for disseminating information about UK stem cell research to overseas researchers, the general public and the media. Its central mission is the promotion of research activities and events at the national level which help to speed the translation of basic stem cell research into therapeutic applications in the control of degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s and diabetes.
The Regenerative Medicine Initiative Germany (RMIG) is a Network of about 30 Centres of Excellence in Regenerative Medicine. It is currently supported by centres in Berlin, Dresden, Hanover, Leipzig and Rostock. It is centrally coordinated by the Berlin-Brandenburg Center for Regenerative Medicine in Berlin.
The dedicated Science & Innovation Team at the British Embassy in Berlin is part of the UK Science & Innovation Network (SIN). Established by the Foreign and Commonwealth Office (FCO) in 2000, this Network comprises 90 full time equivalent staff in 40 UK diplomatic missions in 25 countries. The SIN has four objectives, i.e. promoting scientific collaboration and increasing access to foreign funding for UK researchers, strengthening the UK’s innovation capacity, using science and innovation to influence governments and other overseas players across the range of the UK’s international strategic priorities and supporting science and innovation related policy making.
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