SDSU opens new regenerative research institute

The emerging field tissue regeneration, which harnesses the power and healing potential of stem cells, is an area that scientists around the world are turning their attention to. One of the foremost leaders in this area, Mark Sussman from San Diego State University, today announced the opening of SDSU's new Integrated Regenerative Research Institute (IRRI) to help advance this area of research in San Diego.

Speaking at the Frontiers in Cardiovascular Regeneration International Symposium on the SDSU campus, Sussman said the new institute brings together researchers from across the region and around the world from the private and public sectors to advance the area of tissue regeneration.

"What we're trying to do is turn back the aging clock of your heart," Sussman said. "How can we take the process of tissue regeneration, which normally happens over the course of a lifetime, and make it happen in a year? We are bringing together the incredible resources of the San Diego region to advance our cutting edge research in this area."

Sussman will lead IRRI, whose members includes more than 20 faculty-researchers from SDSU's departments of biology and engineering, as well as from UCSD's medical center, plus experts from San Diego's private sector and internationally renown colleagues around the world. IRRI's broad-based and transdisciplinary faculty span the research spectrum from basic biological investigation to translational implementation in the clinic.

The collaborative effort focuses multiple laboratories from SDSU and UCSD on a shared goal of understanding the fundamental processes of heart protection and regeneration with a long-term vision for therapeutic strategies.

Provided by San Diego State University