Stem Cell Project

The Promise for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Video length: 16:34 Quicklinks Importance of the Project Principal Investigators Project Components Biology & Gene Therapy Facilities & Technologies Glossary Additional Resources

The Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Stem Cell Project is one of the premier collections of physician-scientists and researchers in the United States developing and applying the clinical potential of stem cells to treat human diseases. 

More than 30 research groups within The Saban Research Institute of Childrens Hospital Los Angeles are at work contributing a wide range of complementary expertise in human embryonic and adult stem cells, gene therapy, developmental biology, tissue engineering and clinical transplantation. 

These investigators are increasing the understanding of stem cell biology and applying that knowledge to the treatment of such conditions as diabetes, cancer and leukemia, thalassemia and sickle cell disease, immune deficiency disorders, cystic fibrosis, and congenital lung and heart disease.

The Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Stem Cell Project is uniquely positioned in California to apply embryonic and adult stem cell technologies as therapies for many childhood and adult diseases.  The project goals align with the purpose of Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative, approved by California voters on November 2, 2004.

For the past three years, scientists at The Saban Research Institute have worked with human embryonic stem cells (hESC) approved by the National Institutes of Health (NIH).  These studies have focused on developing methods to culture and genetically manipulate hESC and to direct their differentiation to blood and pancreas cells.

New initiatives to generate liver and lung cells from hESC are underway. Investigators at The Saban Research Institute also are studying adult stem cells from bone marrow, cord blood, lung, liver and mesenchymal tissue (cells that develop into connective tissue, blood vessels and lymphatic tissue). Other research is exploring amniotic fluid stem cells, which may have the potential to form many tissues of the body.

The Childrens Hospital Los Angeles Stem Cell Project
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles
4650 Sunset Blvd., MS #62
Los Angeles, CA  90027
(323) 361-5690