From Trash to Treasure

Manipal Institute of Regenerative Medicine (MIRM) has been the frontier institution in India for the past seven years, fostering and advancing stem cell research and training aspiring stem cell researchers. Regenerative medicine is the rapidly developing science. In the quest to further develop on Manipal University’s leadership in medical education and research, the institute was established in 2007.

“From its inception at 2007 to present, MIRM has achieved enviable goals in cutting edge research, patent and publications in stem cells. It has also managed to get vast public and private funding both nationally and internationally and has nurtured a body of talent in regenerative medicine through its Master’s (M.Sc), M. Phil and PhD programmes,” informs, Dr Ramesh Bhonde, Professor and Dean, MIRM.

The curriculum of MIRM is recognised internationally by reputed universities across Europe, Australia and the US. The limited number of batches create a highly co-operative environment between faculty and students. MIRM provides a ecosystem of teaching and research excellence for making it a universally accepted destination by students. MIRM has further attracted sponsorship in industrial ventures and is well equipped for conducting comprehensive research in any branch of stem cell development with industry tie-ups. This has been possible partly due to its accessibility to the Manipal Hospital and patients and also due to its location in the ‘Silicon Valley’ and the biotech hub of India, Bangalore. This has set the stage for collaborations with scientists, clinical researchers, biomedical engineers, business leaders, and venture capitalists

Dr Ramesh Bhonde

Bhonde says, “In a nutshell, research at MIRM encompasses both understanding of fundamental mechanisms in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine and also to ask key translational questions which would help to bridge the gap between basic research and clinical application.”

Research activities

Investigators at MIRM study all forms of stem cells including embryonic, newborn (umbilical cord and placenta), adult and patient-specific stem cells and their collective applications in the generation of new cells and tissues for treatment of many of the most devastating diseases. The research includes the basic understanding of molecular mechanisms underlying self-renewal, as well as directed differentiation of stem cells to form heart, hepatic, pancreas, neuronal cells and repair and regeneration of immune, respiratory, liver, spinal and neural tissues. Research focus also include using the natural anti-inflammatory and repair-inducing properties of adult mesenchymal cells in the repair of chronic injury and also on cancer stem cells.

“The ultimate goal of MIRM is to translate this knowledge into dramatic new medical therapies for some of the world’s most serious and intractable afflictions. In future, MIRM is optimistic to be able to offer an excellent in vitro platform for screening of novel pharmacological drugs and toxicity testing including providing important insights into their mechanism of action,” says Bhonde.

Rewards for regeneration

Stem cells and the future of regenerative medicine summarise the replacement or regeneration of human tissue and organs, to counter chronic diseases that debilitate organs. While speaking about the advantages that are associated with the institute, Bhonde opines, “MIRM standout from other institutes by its infrastructure and the advanced curriculum set for the students. Each MIRM faculties has expertise in their particular field of stem cell biology and have carved their niche by displaying some of their best ground breaking work in basic stem cell biology. This has been reflected in the number of publications in peer reviewed international journals, which accounts to be approximately 50 in number within a meagre seven years of MIRM’s inception.”

An interaction with the scientists at MIRM highlighted the fact that an amalgamation of basic researchers and pharma industry is very essential to achieve a better human beneficial therapeutic product. Even MIRM has always been in forefront in collaborating with pharma industry and has always kept the door open for such initiatives.

Global demand

Manipal University recently signed a MoU with University of Colombo. This is an academic support programme to undertake under graduate and post graduate courses in regenerative medicines. Initially, this MoU will be valid for two years. To understand the course in regenerative medicines, two faculty members and two students from Department of Medicines, Colombo University, visited Manipal Institute of Regenerative Medicines (MIRM). PG course in regenerative medicines will be initiated at Colombo University from August 1 2013. To take this association further, faculty members from MIRM will also visit Sri Lanka depending on the need to conduct specific aspects of theory and practicals. As this association is new, at this point of time, it is only restricted to academic support in teaching and training and there would not be participation from any other pharma companies.

While speaking about the future activities of this partnership, Bhonde says, “We plan to conduct ‘Indo-Sri Lanka’ joint workshop on stem cell culture. Research projects will be jointly submitted to funding agencies for financial support.”

Future plans

MIRM wants to maintain its uniqueness in the future. Institute would be investing in novel way of using facilities and extending the collaborative projects. “A focus on the big science questions, with an emphasis on applying the stem cell product to help people, coupled with an innovative structure, will be our prime goal. Specifically, MIRM will build on the platform by investing in the areas like obtaining self-sufficient grants from granting agencies, an approach to combine faculty across labs and institutions with a bias towards combating diseases with stem cell products, establishing stem cell banking facilities for research purpose and making MIRM as a centre of excellence in stem cell field,” Bhonde concludes.

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