Reference number : GC-2017-Q1-00243, amendment number : , agreement type : G, recipient legal name : Piret, James (The University of British Columbia), recipient country : CA, recipient province : nan, recipient city : British Columbia|Colombie-Britannique, recipient postal code : nan, program name english : Collaborative Health Research Projects, program name french : Projets de recherche concertée sur la santé, program purpose english : Emerging cellular therapies have the potential to both greatly improve the health of individuals_x000D_
and to reduce healthcare costs by curing diseases. For example, it has been established that_x000D_
a cellular transplant therapy can reverse and potentially cure type 1 diabetes. However, there_x000D_
are far too few cadaveric donors available relative to the many thousands of Canadians who_x000D_
could benefit from this therapy. Generating pancreatic islets (insulin-generating cells) from_x000D_
cultured stem cells is an exciting development that could provide an essentially unlimited_x000D_
supply for transplantation into diabetic patients. It has already been demonstrated that these_x000D_
cells can reverse diabetes in animal models, and a human clinical trial is currently underway._x000D_
However, several challenges must be overcome to make this cure for diabetes a reality._x000D_
Among them, improving the complex processes used to produce these cells is paramount._x000D_
For example, we need technologies capable of non-invasively (and without contact)_x000D_
monitoring of the cultures so that the cells produced remain safe and effective. Our group has_x000D_
shown that novel spectroscopic techniques can gather critical information using light scattered_x000D_
by the cultured cells, tracking the critical developmental changes taking place as stem cells_x000D_
become pancreatic cells. This project will advance this non-invasive technology so that it can_x000D_
be used to assess and control the quality of stem cell-derived therapeutic cells destined for_x000D_
transplantation. This will contribute to the development and approval of safe and efficacious_x000D_
therapies with the potential of curing thousands of Canadians. While the first application will_x000D_
target diabetes, our technology could also be applied to many other cell therapies that target_x000D_
diseases such as cancer and heart disease cellular therapy., program purpose french : Emerging cellular therapies have the potential to both greatly improve the health of individuals_x000D_
and to reduce healthcare costs by curing diseases. For example, it has been established that_x000D_
a cellular transplant therapy can reverse and potentially cure type 1 diabetes. However, there_x000D_
are far too few cadaveric donors available relative to the many thousands of Canadians who_x000D_
could benefit from this therapy. Generating pancreatic islets (insulin-generating cells) from_x000D_
cultured stem cells is an exciting development that could provide an essentially unlimited_x000D_
supply for transplantation into diabetic patients. It has already been demonstrated that these_x000D_
cells can reverse diabetes in animal models, and a human clinical trial is currently underway._x000D_
However, several challenges must be overcome to make this cure for diabetes a reality._x000D_
Among them, improving the complex processes used to produce these cells is paramount._x000D_
For example, we need technologies capable of non-invasively (and without contact)_x000D_
monitoring of the cultures so that the cells produced remain safe and effective. Our group has_x000D_
shown that novel spectroscopic techniques can gather critical information using light scattered_x000D_
by the cultured cells, tracking the critical developmental changes taking place as stem cells_x000D_
become pancreatic cells. This project will advance this non-invasive technology so that it can_x000D_
be used to assess and control the quality of stem cell-derived therapeutic cells destined for_x000D_
transplantation. This will contribute to the development and approval of safe and efficacious_x000D_
therapies with the potential of curing thousands of Canadians. While the first application will_x000D_
target diabetes, our technology could also be applied to many other cell therapies that target_x000D_
diseases such as cancer and heart disease cellular therapy., agreement title english : Raman Spectroscopy Analysis to Improve the Validation of Cell Therapy Manufacturing Processes, agreement title french : Raman Spectroscopy Analysis to Improve the Validation of Cell Therapy Manufacturing Processes, agreement number : CHRPJ, agreement value : 233801.0, agreement start date : 2017-06-14, agreement end date : nan, description english : nan, description french : nan, expected results english : nan, expected results french : nan, additional information english : Grant or Award spanning more than one fiscal year. (2017-2018 to 2020-2021), additional information french : Subvention ou bourse octroyée s'appliquant à plus d'un exercice financier. (2017-2018 à 2020-2021), owner organization : nserc-crsng, owner organization title : Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada | Conseil de recherches en sciences naturelles et en génie du Canada