The group focuses on three main aspects of tissue engineering: stem cells, genes and biomaterials. The group has developed substantial expertise in skeletal tissue injury models in rodents, which include critical size bone defects, chondral and osteochondral defects and tendon tears in mice and rats. Furthermore, the lab is a pioneer in the use of molecular and micro imaging in skeletal repair. Role and contribution: isolation and genetic engineering of adult mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs), labelling of MSCs with nanoparticles, in vivo injection of labelled MSCs into rat intervertebral disc (IVD), generation of rat IVD degeneration, perform all molecular biology assays required for the invasive bio-distribution of MSCs at distant organs, including quantitative RT-PCR.
Zulma Gazit
Expert in immunology and stem cell biology at the Skeletal Biotech Lab. Dr.
Gazit is in charge of stem cell isolation from bone marrow and adipose tissue
samples. She is also investigating the effect of cell labelling on stem cell
proliferation and differentiation potentail.