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The Australian Stem Cell Centre (ASCC) is the largest most comprehensive stem cell research organisation in Australia. The Centre’s research is focused predominantly in the area of blood and heart diseases as well as exploring the fundamental challenges of stem cell biology that may in the future be applicable to a wide range of diseases and injuries. Based at Monash University campus in Melbourne, it commenced operations in 2003, in partnership with nine leading Australian research institutes and universities.
The ASCC’s principal objective is to integrate a national multi-institution research and discovery program to develop treatments for serious diseases through the application of stem cells and related technologies. A core role of the ASCC is to attract and secure commercial partners to advance outstanding research outcomes towards clinical trials initially, and eventually into the hands of medical practitioners for the benefit of their patients.
The ASCC has research projects across a range of four platform technologies combined with therapeutic programs in haematology and cardiac disease and a pilot program in respiratory disease. Haematology is currently the most comprehensive of these programs and in the very near term will comprise several projects in multiple institutes and states. This program represents a cross-disciplinary, multi-institution approach to creating a new paradigm in the supply of blood products such as red blood cells and platelets. The ASCC is also investigating the use of therapeutics for congestive heart failure which may offer benefits to an extremely large and growing patient population.
ASCC Research Services, a division of the ASCC provides important support to the Australian stem cell community, including: adult and embryonic stem cell training; provision of boutique proteins that are required for stem cell growth, maintenance, and differentiation; derivation of new human embryonic stem cell lines and applications of proprietary in-house technologies for the creation of improved cells lines; and implementation of a Flow Cytometry Facility which, at present, is fully subscribed.
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