Scientists and clinicians at the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CRM) study stem cells, disease and tissue repair to advance human health.
CRM is located on the Edinburgh BioQuarter site shared by the Royal Infirmary Hospital and the University's Clinical Research facilities. With new state-of-the-art facilities and a 270+ team of scientists and clinicians, CRM is positioned uniquely to translate scientific knowledge to industry and the clinic. Research at CRM is aimed at developing new treatments for major diseases including cancer, heart disease, liver failure, diabetes, and degenerative diseases such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson's.
We also train the next generation of basic and clinical scientists and act as a centre for excellence in public engagement and source of advice for policy makers.
Management and administration
CRM is led by the Centre Director Prof Stuart Forbes, supported by Associate Director Prof Dónal O'Carroll who provides academic leadership and direction. Centre operations, management and administration are led by Dr Gordon McLean who leads a team tasked with ensuring CRM provides the best possible environment for its research to flourish.
History
The University of Edinburgh has a strong history in stem cell research, dating back to the first stem cell publications in the early 1990s by researchers at the Centre for Genome Research. In 1996 Prof Austin Smith was appointed as Director of this centre and under his leadership it became the first Institute of Stem Cell Research (ISCR) in the UK. Over the years ISCR developed into a world leading centre for multidisciplinary research in basic stem cell biology, dedicated to developing an understanding of the mechanisms underlying stem cell self-renewal and differentiation processes. In 2008, ISCR scientists at the University's School of Biological Sciences joined efforts with their colleagues at the College for Medicine and Veterinary Medicine to form CRM, a unique cross-college initiative.
The CRM building (or Scottish Centre for Regenerative Medicine) was officially opened in 2012 by HRH Princess Royal and received substantial funding from the Scottish Government and Scottish Enterprise.
Future
CRM has been involved in successfully acquiring new capital funding to build a research facility adjacent to the CRM building. The new £10.7M capital funding will be used to set up a new Centre for Tissue Repair (CTR). Together, the CRM and CTR will form the Institute for Regeneration and Repair (IRR).
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