Victorian Link to New International Stem Cell Research Centre

20 December 2021

Picture: MCRI Professor Melissa Little has been appointed CEO of reNEW.

An up to EUR$300 million international research centre has been established across three world-leading institutions that will develop new drugs and therapies using human stem cells offering hope to patients with heart, respiratory and kidney disease, diabetes and cancer.

The Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine - reNEW is a collaboration between the University of Copenhagen in Denmark, the Murdoch Children’s Research Institute, and Leiden University Medical Center in The Netherlands, which will pave the way for future stem cell-based treatments.

The new consortium, that will place Victoria on the international stage for regenerative #medicine, is expected to stimulate a new wave of global investment in stem cell medicine and technologies, creating highly skilled jobs in this advancing medical field.

MCRI Professor Melissa Little, world-renowned for her pioneering studies into potential regenerative kidney therapies, and President of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, has been appointed CEO of reNEW. 

Professor Little said the research initiative would harness their collective experience around stem cell disease modelling for drug development, cellular therapies for tissue regeneration and translational regenerative medicine.

The reNEW faculty within MCRI will also include Heart Regeneration Group Leader Professor Enzo Porrello, who will act as node director for MCRI, along with Professor Andrew Elefanty, Professor Ed Stanley and Associate Professor David Elliott.

Hear more about the new initiative in this video.

Mia, 16, was diagnosed with a complex congenital #heartdisease as a baby and required multiple surgeries during her first few years of life. Due to Mia’s condition her heart functions with a single ventricle instead of two beating chambers.

Mia is among those who could benefit from advancements made in the stem cell medicine field. For patients like Mia with incurable diseases, the new Novo Nordisk Foundation Center for Stem Cell Medicine (reNEW) could change that.

Mia shares her story with MCRI in this video.