Sydney, Australia, Dec 21, 2007 / 09:18 am
Cardinal George Pell has announced that Archdiocese of Sydney is awarding a $100,000 stem cell research grant to a team of researchers investigating the potential of adult stem cells.
The researchers, based in Adelaide, will use the grant to investigate the capacity of stem cells derived from human dental pulp to transform into neuron cells. If the cells can be effectively transformed, they could be useful in treatments for victims of strokes.
The research team is led by Associate Professor Stan Gronthos of the Hanson Institute and Dr. Simon Koblar of the Australian Research Council Center for the Molecular Genetics of Development at the University of Adelaide. Both researchers praised the contribution of their Ph.D. student Dr. Agnieszka Arthur for being instrumental in advancing their studies. Dr. Arthur is a co-investigator of the grant and is doing postdoctoral work at the Hanson Institute.
“The project of Associate Professor Gronthos and Dr. Koblar brings new ideas and new thinking to adult stem cell research, and to the search for new treatments for people who have had a stroke,” Cardinal Pell said.