Armenian doctors will start growing human skin from stem cells

Horizon Weekly Newspaper

The Immunology and Tissue Engineering Lab of the Orbeli Institute of Physiology, through a grant from Stepan Gishyan Charity Foundation, will attempt to grow human skin from stem cells for surgical use in an incubator that creates environment close to the human body.

“We have acquired a high-end incubator, as the previous one did not provide adequate conditions for the cells to maintain their viable state. Our experiments would very often fail due to technical problems,” said Zaruhi Karabekyan, the head of the Immunology and Tissue Engineering Lab.

“We used to mark the scales of temperature and CO2 gas pointers to perform a manual setup: the incubator now is auto-regulated. We will first separate the stem cells from the fatty tissue, then create a cell repository which will be used to create skin matching our gene pool. We’ll be able to produce liver, vascular or organ tissues using the cell repository.”

“We are happy that scientific work will from now on be more efficient, and students will have the opportunity to carry out tests using modern equipment,” said Anna Gishyan, director of Stepan Gishyan Charity Foundation.

“To carry out skin transplantation, Armenian doctors currently receive tissues from abroad. We hope to have an alternative solution thanks to the foundation’s investment and the scholar’s efforts.”

Stepan Gishyan charity foundation was founded by ACBA-CREDIT AGRICOLE BANK, the French Credit Agricole Bank, Credit Agricole Federation Nationale and Stepan Gishyan family. The foundation has received 128 applications for getting involved in grant projects this year. Immunology and Tissue Engineering Lab of the Orbeli Institute of Physiology is one of the four winning projects.

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