Stem Cell Excursion

Discovering amazing stem cell research

On Friday the 6th of March, students from the VCE preparation class journeyed to Monash University to engage in a stem cell program for the day.

Professor Helen Abud, the program co-head, introduced us to the many research programs being conducted at Monash University. Unlocking the potential of stem cells is a high priority for regenerative medicine and for improving treatment options for a number of conditions such as diabetes, cardiovascular disease, neurological disease, autoimmune disease and cancer.

Together with the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI), we form the leading developmental biology and stem cell community in Australia, and one of the strongest globally, says Helen.

One of the labs we visited on the day is the AquaCore lab.  AquaCore is housed at the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute (ARMI) and consists of facilities that host diverse fresh and marine water species. Within AquaCore, a program called FishCore operates. 

FishCore is the largest zebrafish facility of its kind in the southern hemisphere. FishCore has 1000 quarantine tanks and 5200 main facility tanks (non-quarantine) and holds more than 100,000 zebrafish. The facility houses genetically modified and mutant strains of zebrafish to model a variety of human diseases and conditions. Zebrafish are the rising stars of biomedical research and have become a key tool in regenerative medicine research and human disease modelling.

Mrs Barr