The UT Southwestern Medical Center is one of the premier academic medical centers in the nation, notorious for pioneering biomedical research. According to an article completed by News Wise, the medical center is continuing to hold true to this tradition, as it announces the creation of a separate center dedicated entirely to researching regenerative medicine.
The new center is made possible due to a charitable contribution from the Hamon Charitable Foundation that totaled ten million dollars. The goal of the newly formed Hamon Center for Regenerative Science and Medicine will be to understand the basic processes and contributors to the development of tissue and organs. From there, the center hopes this information can be applied to creating new approaches towards healing and regeneration, specifically in terms of stem cell biology, tissue engineering and organ fabrication. In essence, researchers hope to use the knowledge they gain to help regenerate, repair and replace damaged tissue brought on by age or accident.
Leading the center will be the renowned Doctor Eric Olson, who is known for his contributions and insights into the degeneration, regeneration and development of the heart. For his work, Olson has received numerous awards, titles and honors, including several elections to key scientific panels. He has served on the National Academy of Sciences, the Institute of Medicine and the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. In the last two years, he has received three prestigious awards.
Olson has served as a member of the UT Southwestern team since 1995, when he was recruited as the founding chair of the Department of Molecular Biology. With this experience, Olson will work to establish the center based on a combination of collaborations. Existing faculty will be recruited to assist on upcoming projects, in addition to new junior and senior colleagues who will be brought in to specifically work for the Harmon Center.