Untitled - Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute - University of Miami

At the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell
Institute, the ability to fix diseased
organs and cure debilitating illness
stems from tiny tools in the body’s
own repair system.
BODYSHOP
Technicians in ISCI’s FDA-certified Good Manufacturing
Practice lab follow stringent protocols to
grow and prepare the stem cells researchers are
using to heal damaged hearts and other maladies.
The giant picture window reveals what you’d expect of
a “clean room” at a modern manufacturing facility: stainless steel
tables, spotless floors, air handlers that wipe out nearly every
airborne particle, workers dressed like astronauts in protective
suits. But instead of microchips or other high-tech widgets, this
facility churns out lifesaving stem cells.
The Cellular Manufacturing Laboratory is one of many interlocking
parts at the Miller School of Medicine’s Interdisciplinary
Stem Cell Institute (ISCI). Launched in 2008 under the direction
of Joshua Hare, Louis Lemberg Professor of Medicine, ISCI is
an efficient machine designed to realize the vast potential of
regenerative medicine.
By Meredith Danton Camel
Photos by Donna Victor
14 Miami magazine Fall 2011
Fall 2011 Miami magazine 15