Department of Biomedical Engineering
Regenerative therapy research is rapidly growing, but before stem cell-based treatments can move from the lab to clinical use, many more cells are needed.
“Once you scale up to having these treatments readily available for patients, you have to make a ton of high-quality cells,” says Dr. Roland Kaunas.
Texas A&M, with its history of expertise in manufacturing, might be key to a successful scale-up.
Serving as regional lead for the Advanced Regenerative Manufacturing Institute, and receiving grants from the National Science Foundation and National Institutes of Health, Texas A&M is already a leader in this emerging field.
Kaunas and fellow researchers are working on validating bioreactors, which can make large amounts of cells. They will turn to Texas A&M’s experts in biophotonics and manufacturing processes to help reduce the number of bad lots of cells, a crucial step in bringing treatment prices down.
Kaunas is also developing curricula for graduate students and professionals in the field (even those without advanced degrees) so they can apply statistical methods for manufacturing to this new field and run bioreactors.
