Faculty Member’s Name
Dr Satyan Chintawar
Faculty Member’s Profile:
Dr Satyan Chintawar received his PhD from Free University of Brussels in Belgium. He did his training as a Pharmacist and then did specialization in Pharmacology from University of Pune, India. Dr Chintawar’s primary area of research interest includes cellular therapy and using stem cells as a tool to help various neurological diseases and insult. Stem cells are unspecialized cells present at the early stage embryo (embryonic stem cells) which contribute to the formation of all germ layers of an organism and continue to be present in various organs during adulthood (adult stem cells) and act as a reservoir of new cells to maintain homeostasis. He is interested in exploring the potential of stem cells and their derivatives for cellular therapy for neurological diseases involving cerebellar degeneration; establish disease-specific in vitro human cell models to study the pathogenic events and to screen potential therapeutic molecules. Dr Chintawar is currently a postdoctoral researcher at the Department of Neurology at the Free University of Brussels.
Course Code:
*Title:
Stem cells: Building blocks of the body and potential for therapies
*Format:
*Hours:
10
*Objectives:
*Short Structural Outline:
The study of stem cells is one of the most exciting areas of contemporary biomedical research. This course provides a brisk insight into stem cells, what are they, different types, and potential to medical therapies taking nervous system as a model. Fundamentals of pluripotent (embryonic and induced) stem cells, multipotent neural stem cells will be discussed. Centuries old long held dogma that adult mammalian brain has no regeneration ability is challenged and I will highlight the presence of stem cells in discrete brain regions. Stem cells isolation, in vitro culture and expansion, differentiation techniques will be detailed. Existing stem cell therapies and opportunities for future therapies by using stem cells as a tool will be addressed.
This course covers following topics:
Embryonic and induced pluripotent stem cells
Neural stem cells in the adult mammalian brain
Neural stem cells transplantation
Stem cell crosstalk via gap junction: Role during development and potential for therapy
Neural differentiation of human pluripotent stem cells
Model organisms to study regeneration
Stem cells as cellular models
Cellular therapy
Mechanistic insight into stem cell mediated protective effects on endangered host
Stem cell niche
*Textbooks and Reading List:
Essentials of Stem Cells Biology, Elsevier
Neural Stem Cells – Methods and Protocols, Second edition, Humana press
Neural Development and Stem Cells, Second edition, Humana press
Progress toward the clinical application of patient-specific pluripotent stem cells, Kiskinis E, Eggan K. J Clin Invest. 2010 Jan; 120(1): 51-9.
*Evaluation: