MRFF grants to advance stem cell medicine

Improving treatments for heart failure, bone marrow failure disorders, blood cancers and kidney disease are the latest Murdoch Children’s Research Institute (MCRI)-led projects to receive Federal Government grants.

Professor Enzo Porrello, Professor Andrew Elefanty and Dr Jessica Vanslambrouck have each received two-year Stem Cell Therapies Mission grants from the Medical Research Future Fund (MRFF), worth a total of $3 million. 

Professor Porrello and his team will grow human heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) in the lab using cutting-edge stem cell technology to identify which new drugs could promote tissue growth and expansion. This technique could inform treatments to repair heart damage. 

Image: Professor Enzo Porrello

“Developing improved treatments for heart failure is critical with the disease affecting 64 million people and is one of the leading causes of death and disability globally,” Professor Porrello said.

“This funding will allow us to develop regenerative therapies that can restore function to the failing heart, which would transform patients’ lives.”

Professor Elefanty will work towards tailoring treatments for those diagnosed with bone marrow failure disorders and blood cancers.

The research, creating blood stem cells in the lab that closely resemble those in the human body, could replace bone marrow transplants by offering patients healthy versions of their own cells, removing the risk of rejection.

Image: Professor Andrew Elefanty

“While our initial findings are promising, we need to refine this process through further lab testing before it can be offered as a potential treatment,” Professor Elefanty said. 

“This stem cell technology could ensure leukemia patients and those with serious blood disorders don’t have to wait for a bone marrow transplant or fear organ rejection-related symptoms.”

Dr Vanslambrouck will create functional kidney tissue from stem cells that could inform the future development of artificial kidney devices. The devices would combine living kidney cells with mechanical blood filtration, providing a potential solution to donor kidney shortages. 

Image: Dr Jessica Vanslambrouck

“Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a leading cause of death and illness with limited treatment options, with four million people globally currently relying on blood dialysis,” Dr Vanslambrouck said.

“Only a third of waitlisted patients will receive a donor kidney, but we hope that our study will help to develop new, game-changing methods that could improve quality of life and longevity for more patients with CKD.”

Read more about MCRI’s research across Heart Regeneration, Blood Development and Kidney Regeneration.