cord blood bank research
summary
The BMDI Cord Blood Bank is a joint initiative of the Bone
Marrow Donor Institute, The Royal Children's Hospital and the
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute and is located at The Royal
Children's Hospital, Parkville, Victoria. The BMDI Cord Blood Bank
is a member of the AusCord network of public cord blood banks.
The banking of umbilical cord blood involves the collection,
processing, freezing and storage of umbilical cord blood to provide
"ready to use" transplant tissue for patients who are unable to be
matched with a suitable bone marrow donor. This is a major project
that not only provides a direct service to the clinic, but is also
used as a resource for the development of new, advanced cellular
therapies.
group leader(s)
Dr Ngaire
Elwood
Cord Blood Bank Research
Murdoch Childrens Research Institute
Royal Children's Hospital
Flemington Road
Parkville Victoria 3052
T +61 3 9345 6398
F +61 3 9345 5834
E ngaire.elwood@mcri.edu.au
group leader
biography
current research projects
Current research is investigating the growth and development of
cord blood stem cells and the optimisation of donor selection, and
if other cells can be derived from cord blood.
The group has recently made important discoveries about the DNA
found in cord blood stem cells, which will provide a better
understanding of how these cells grow and survive.
Researchers at the Cord Blood Bank are also collaborating
internally and with researchers at the University of Melbourne to
determine if cord blood stem cells can be used for repairing heart
damage and growing lung cells.
team members
- Annette Alafaci - Transplant Project Officer
- Kristy Anderson - QUALITY SYSTEM ASSISTANT
- Linda Chilcott - Cord Blood Bank Clinical Coordinator
- Janu Davawala - Research Assistant
- Andrew Deeming - Quality Manager
- Jenny Forrester - Cord Blood Bank Clinical Coordinator
- Jane Kaye - Cord Blood Bank Clinical Coordinator
- Jocelyn Kelly - Quality Systems Assistant
- Louisa Layton - Production Manager
- Lin Liu - Transplant Coordinator
- Fiona Pratt - Research Assistant
- Kally Theodore - Research Assistant
- Pei Tian - Research Assistant
- Faten Zaibak - Honorary Research Fellow
publications
- Filby CE., Williamson R., van Kooy P., Pebay A., Dottori M., Elwood NJ., Zaibak F. Stimulation of Activin A/Nodal signaling is insufficient to induce definitive endoderm formation of cord blood-derived unrestricted somatic stem cells. STEM CELL RESEARCH & THERAPY 2 (2011) PubMed