Pluripotent Stem Cells in Corneal Engineering

Restoration of vision using bioengineered replacement corneas may be compromised by immune rejection unless the cells in these constructs are recognized as ‘self’ by the host.
New discoveries in stem cell science make it possible to induce skin or hair follicle cells to become stem cells with the potential to become any cell in the body.
This project aims use these induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS) to differentiate into cells of the cornea for the purposes of cell-based therapy and tissue engineering.
The goal of this project is to develop the concept of ‘personalized medicine’ to the treatment of blindness by the use of autologous cells in tissue engineering.

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