Innovation magazine features ICORD Principal Investigator
Dr. Willerth and a student at work in her Stem Cells Lab
ICORD Principal Investigator Dr. Stephanie Willerth has been recognized as a biomedical innovator in the latest issue of Innovation magazine. She and her team at the University of Victoria are bioengineering neural tissue designed to aid the healing of a damaged spinal cord. The tissue is built from human induced pluripotent stem cells—which can be reprogrammed into a state where they can become any living cell in an organism—and biomaterial scaffolds that release drugs and assist the engineered tissue in implanting itself in the injured spinal cord. The hope is that this material will help with neuronal differentiation and, ultimately, recovery. Check out Dr. Willerth being featured alongside some of B.C.’s other biomedical innovators!
