National University of Ireland, Galway

The National University of Ireland, Galway is one of Ireland's leading universities, with over 15,000 students. Biomedical Science and Engineering is a priority research area.

NUI Galway has two research groups active in PurStem. These are REMEDI (the Regenerative Medicine Institute) and the National Cell and Gene Therapy Facility (NCGTF).

REMEDI (www.remedi.ie) is Ireland's leading stem cell research institute, emphasizing research into adult stem cells, and bone marrow mesenchymal stem cells in particular. Research focuses on the isolation and culture of MSCs and on their application for a range of therapies, including cardio-vascular disease, arthritis and spinal cord injury. REMEDI's second field of expertise is gene therapy, and where it overlaps with stem cell research. This includes the use of stem cells as a delivery vector for gene therapy, and also the modification of stem cell behaviour using genetic techniques. REMEDI collaborates with clinicians in University College Hospital, Galway (UCHG) whose Clinical Research Facility is a valuable path for the translation of research results into clinical treatments.

REMEDI's scientific director is Professor Frank Barry. Professor Barry has a distinguished career as research scientist and director in the US, before returning to Ireland at the foundation of REMEDI. He has 14 years' experience in the field with seminal publications; he directed work which led to the first clinical trial worldwide in the area of stem cells in meniscal repair.

 

Mary Murphy, Ph.D is a Lecturer in Regenerative Medicine, and a principle investigator at the Regenerative Medicine Institute (REMEDI), NUI Galway. She is also affiliated with the National Centre for Biomedical Engineering Science. Research interests focus on the biology, mechanism of action and the use of adult stem cells for tissue regeneration in orthopaedic applications. She has over 14 years experience on the isolation, characterization and differentiation of stem cells, articular cartilage differentiation and osteogenesis in the mouse embryo, effects of ageing and disease on biology of stem cells, and development of pertinent animal models and therapeutic modalities for mesenchymal stem cells in tissue regeneration. Dr. Murphy has managed a large interdisciplinary group at Osiris Therapeutics Inc., for the translation of a therapeutic protocol for meniscal repair using adult stem cells from research through preclinical studies to the first worldwide phase I clinical trial in the area including animal model development, GLP safety and efficacy studies, and submission for regulatory approval

Cynthia Coleman, a senior scientist at REMEDI has significant experience in progenitor cell differentiation with emphasis on cartilage biology. Before joining REMEDI she was a post-doctoral scientist at the National Institutes of Health and a research scientist at Johnson and Johnson Regenerative Therapeutics in the United States. Her current research interests focus on the application of adult human bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells to treat osteoarthritis.

 

 

The National Cell and Gene Therapy Facility (NCGTF) is a dedicated facility to produced cellular therapy products according to current Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP). The ‘GMP Team' acts as an expertise resource for the PurStem project, ensuring that project research activities are carried out in a manner which facilitates translation to the clinical environment. The NCGTF has a production suite dedicated to the manufacture of mesenchymal stem cells.

Karen Duffy is the Facility Manager at REMEDI’s GMP facility, actively working to ensure operational and regulatory compliance of the facility’s activities. Karen holds a B.Sc. (Hons, 1.1) degree and a Ph.D. degree in microbiology awarded from NUI-Galway. In addition, Karen completed a Diploma in Quality Management awarded by Excellence Ireland and is presently undertaking a Masters in Business Administration (MBA) degree. Karen has a background in both basic and industrial research, having been involved in projects such as: the development of a diagnostic assay to detect prions in bovine blood, development of a molecular detection assay for detection of food pathogens in various foodstuffs, the development of novel detection devices and diagnostic assays for detection of Streptococcus pyogenes.

NUI Galway in PurStem
NUI Galway is the coordinating partner and the scientific leader for the project. The Galway teams bring particular expertise in isolation, culture and clinical applications of MSCs, in the combination of stem cell and gene therapies and in the application of Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP).

NUI Galway is also responsible for innovation and exploitation elements of the PurStem project, including the intellectual property model.