Director named to head newly created Stem Cell Core Facility in Children's Memorial Research Center
Vasil Galat, PhD, an expert in laboratory research on human embryonic stem cells, has been
named director of Children's Memorial's Research Center's Stem Cell Core
Facility and appointed assistant professor in the Department of Pathology at
Northwestern University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Galat was the former
director of the Preimplantation Genetic Diagnosis Laboratory in Torrance,
California where he focused on assisted reproductive technologies including
chromosome analysis, human embryo culture, somatic cell nuclear transfer and
medical genetics.
“We are very excited to have recruited Dr. Galat from California to be part
of our stem cell research program,” said Mary J.C. Hendrix, PhD, Children's Memorial Research Center's
president and scientific director. “This is an opportune time to be in Illinois
doing stem cell research, and Dr. Galat's expertise will bring a new dimension
to the stem cell work we are currently undertaking.”
The funding for the position came from the Illinois Regenerative Medicine
Institute (IRMI) created by Gov. Blagojevich's executive order in July 2005
providing state-funded grants for stem cell research. Children's Memorial's
Research Center received nearly $2 million in a two-year grant for research on
reversal of disease progression by stem cells, the only pediatric institution to
receive IRMI funding.
“The IRMI provides important funds for stem cell research which holds promise
for diseases such as Parkinson's disease, juvenile diabetes, cancer and spinal
cord injury,” said Hendrix.
Galat will be part of a new core program at the research center and will
interface with other Illinois scientists studying the nutrient and
microenvironment requirements of human embryonic stem cells.
Children's Memorial's Research
Center is one of only a handful of research institutions in the country
devoted to pediatric research. It is part of Children's Memorial Hospital,
Chicago, which is the primary pediatric teaching hospital for Northwestern
University's Feinberg School of Medicine. Children's Memorial is also
recognized as one of the top 10 pediatric hospitals in the country and number
one in Illinois in rankings published in U.S. News & World Report.