MATC BIOTECH PROGRAM CELEBRATES 20TH ANNIVERSARY
BY BECOMING ONE OF FIRST COLLEGES IN U.S.
TO OFFER HANDS-ON TRAINING IN HUMAN EMBRYONIC STEM CELLS
Students End Semester by Learning “Care and Feeding ”of HES Cells. Agreement with WARF Allows MATC Local Access to WiCell “Presidential” Stem Cell Lines.
WHO: MATC biotechnology students with Dr. Lisa Seidman, MATC biotechnology instructor
WHAT: Special laboratory session in which students and faculty from MATC’s Biotechnology Program, which is celebrating its 20th anniversary this year, will work for the first time with human embryonic stem (HES) cells. These cells have been provided to MATC by WiCell through an agreement with WARF (Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation) so MATC students can learn lab techniques relating to the culture of human embryonic stem cells. MATC is one of the first colleges in the U.S. to offer its students hands-on training in HES cell techniques.
Students will learn about the special “care and feeding” required for these sensitive cells and actually “feed” the cells during the lab session. The cells must be fed special growth medium daily to be kept alive. The cells provided to MATC are the “presidential” cell lines approved for research use by President George Bush.
The session will be set up in one of the college’s biotech labs with a culture dish of the stem cells, a microscope and a camera that projects a display of the cells. In addition, the students’ year-end poster session assignments will be on display in the lab.
WHERE & WHEN: MATC Truax, 3550 Anderson Street, Madison, WI Room 18
Wednesday, May 16, 2007 2 – 2:45 p.m.
WHY: The ability to culture human embryonic stem cells has created great interest around the world because of their promise for treating diseases and conditions that presently are difficult or impossible to cure, such as diabetes, Parkinson’s, cancer and spinal cord injuries. Stem cells also are widely used in research by scientists who study cells in health and disease and who investigate new drug treatments.
A number of companies have been founded based on stem cell culturing technologies, including several in Madison. Just yesterday, Governor Jim Doyle announced the state will provide $1 million in funding to one of these companies, Stemina Biomarker Discovery, Inc. ( http://wistechnology.com/article.php?id=3921 and http://www.stemina.com/ )
It is important that MATC biotechnology technician students learn state-of the-art techniques, such as those used to culture, maintain and differentiate human embryonic stem cells, that are in-demand by local employers.
NOTE: See the links below for more information on:
MATC Biotechnology Program
WiCell Research Institute
WARF
PARKING: Call ahead for nearby parking arrangements.
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Last
Modified:
July 2, 2008
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