New collaboration to be announced at a symposium on regenerative medicine

[PRESS INVITATION 2010-10-27] Current research within regenerative medicine will be presented at a symposium at Karolinska Institutet. At the same time, a unique collaboration between Karolinska Institutet, the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minnesota, USA will be announced.

"Regenerative medicine" is a collective term for research that deals with recreating damaged or lost cells or organs. Among the topics to be discussed at the symposium are methods for recreating reproductive ability that could be damaged or lost as a result of various types of medical treatment. Another topic concerns methods for reversing the development of cells such that they enter an earlier, stem cell stage, from which they can be reprogrammed to form other types of cell.

Journalists will be welcome at the symposium "Frontiers in Biomedical Research: Regenerative medicine"

• Date: 4 November, 9 am-5 pm and 5 November, 9 am-5 pm.
• Location: Nobel Forum, Karolinska Institutet, Solna

• Program

Scientists from Karolinska Institutet, the University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic in the US will participate in the symposium. The purpose is to take a comprehensive view of the complete field of research in regenerative medicine, and this means that the future of the field will be discussed, and the consequences it may have not only for individuals but also for society in general.

The symposium is part of the Karolinska Institutet celebrations of its bicentenary and will be opened by President Harriet Wallberg-Henriksson, who will announce a new and unique collaboration. Karolinska Institutet has worked closely with the University of Minnesota for over 20 years. This collaboration will now be extended to include the Mayo Clinic, a successful and highly renowned research institute in Rochester, USA.

The collaboration, known as the Frontiers in Biomedical Research Partnership, will cover the research fields regenerative medicine, bio-omics and immunity.

"What is unique about the collaboration is that it involves more than the exchange of postdocs: we will be building up a system for collaboration between the various research groups. The postdocs who are admitted are important links and ambassadors for the activities, but what is most important is establishing collaboration between the various research groups", says Professor Jan Palmblad at Karolinska Institutet, one of those who took the initiative for the new collaboration.

He believes that the new forms of collaboration will be extremely positive for Karolinska Institutet.

"Anything that leads to a higher quality of research benefits Karolinska Institutet. The University of Minnesota and the Mayo Clinic have excellent research in some areas that we lack. It is in this case a question of supplementing our research. In other areas, we are equally strong, so here it will be a case of achieving fantastic synergy effects."

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