The Stem Cell Engineering area at iBB/IST has built an internationally recognized track record in the field, as highlighted by the WTEC assessment in the United States on behalf of NSF, NIST, and NIH. The success of stem cell manufacturing depends on safe, robust, and reproducible culture conditions and on the development of cost-effective processes. These include bioreactor design, bioseparation, microscale technologies, and process control, integrated with systems biology. Efficient, scalable, and economical production processes for stem cells are expected to accelerate their use in Cellular and Gene Therapy, Tissue Engineering, high-throughput drug screening, toxicological testing, and fundamental stem cell research.
SCERG follows a cross-disciplinary strategy that merges Bioprocess Engineering and Stem Cell Biology. Its activities are organized into three major Focus Areas:
(A) Biology and Engineering of Pluripotent Stem Cells
(B) Development and Manufacturing of Cellular & Molecular Therapies
(C) Biomaterials and Devices for Advanced Medicine
The SCERG team brings together research scientists and postgraduate students with shared interests in Stem Cells, Bioprocess Engineering, Biomaterials, Tissue Engineering, and Regenerative Medicine, working toward advances in disease diagnosis, treatment, and modeling.