| Research
Clemson researcher receives
Michael J. Fox Foundation grant
 The
nation has watched Michael J. Fox grow from a tie-wearing teen in
“Family Ties” into a leader in the fight against Parkinson’s
disease. His battle is coming to Clemson University.
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| Clemson professor Xuejun Wen is one of four
researchers who have received funds from The Michael J. Fox
Foundation to discover ways of using human stem cells to find
a cure for Parkinson’s. |
The
Michael J. Fox Foundation has announced that Clemson professor Xuejun
Wen is one of four recipients of funding to use human stem cells
to find a cure for Parkinson’s. The disease affects 1 million
people in the United States, and 50,000 more each year. Wen is a
professor of bioengineering, cell biology and anatomy at Clemson,
but works at the Medical University of South Carolina through the
CU-MUSC Bioengineering Program.
Wen’s
lab is developing “cocktails” to induce specialization
of human stem cells into different types of cells aimed at the cure
for many diseases and injuries. If successful, Parkinson’s
and Alzheimer’s diseases, diabetes, heart and brain strokes
and spinal cord injuries could be reduced.
The
use of human stem cells to supply specialized cells to repair the
body is one aspect of regenerative medicine, a branch of bioengineering
that uses knowledge of how cells form, specialize and organize to
repair or replace damaged tissue and organs.
Clemson,
MUSC and the University of South Carolina have a biomedical engineering
partnership that could make South Carolina a leader in regenerative
medicine and bioengineering technology.
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