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Embryonic development inspires regenerative medicine at IRB Barcelona

By November 27, 2017December 10th, 2017IRB Barcelona

The Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona), and the European Molecular Biology Lab (EMBL) bring together leading scientists in the conference “Morphogenetic Engineering”, an event supported by the BBVA Foundation, taking place Nov. 27-29, 2017.

The merge of various disciplines of developmental biology is key to enhancing our knowledge of tissue development and repair, processes that find their most direct applications in regenerative medicine.

“One day we will be able to re-build damaged organs and keep the whole body fit and healthy. But right now we must strengthen our knowledge of how tissues are built and how they are maintained,” say James Sharpe, Head of EMBL Barcelona, and Marco Milán, coordinator of the IRB Barcelona Cell and Developmental Biology programme.

Developmental biologists seek to unravel how animals generate and repair their organs and issues. Tissue engineers, on the other hand, endeavour to understand how damaged tissue in the adult organism can be built and repaired. One approach that may help us to understand how to build new tissues is to “learn from the embryo. This view is shared by James Sharpe, director of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL) in Barcelona, and Marco Milán, ICREA researcher at the Institute for Research in Biomedicine (IRB Barcelona) and it is the idea underlying the organisation of the Barcelona Biomed Conference entitled “Morphogenetic Engineering”.

From 27 to 29 November, the Institut d’Estudis Catalans de Barcelona will bring together a group of international experts on embryos, tissue morphogenesis, gene regulation and developmental mechanics, organoids, regeneration and engineering. The “Morphogenetic Engineering” meeting is part of the Barcelona Biomed Conference Series, which is organised by IRB Barcelona and supported by BBVA Foundation since 2006, and is the 31st gathering of leaders in biomedicine in this series.

More information can be found on the IRB Barcelona website.