image: Arnold Caplan has received the Lifetime Achievement Award. view more
Credit: Case Western Reserve University
Arnold I. Caplan, PhD, professor of Biology and director of the Skeletal Research Center at Case Western Reserve University, received the MSC Lifetime Achievement Award last month at the National Center for Regenerative Medicine's Mesenchymal Stem Cell conference, MSC 2015. Dr. Caplan is the founding director of the conference, which began in 2007 and has since drawn thousands of national and international leaders in translational adult stem cell research and regenerative medicine.
MSC refers to Mesenchymal Stem Cells, which have the same basic features of all stem cells but are "unspecified" cells and possess the ability to self-renew and differentiate into specialized cells with specific functions. Since most MSCs are derived from cells that sit outside every blood vessel in the body, it is understood that these cells serve as sentinels to help guard tissues from intruders and function to assist the tissue to regenerate itself following injury. On the website clinicaltrials.gov, there are over 530 trials testing MSCs for their medicinal and regenerative capabilities.
"I am truly honored by this recognition and indebted to all of my collaborating colleagues for assisting in the research that lead to this award," Caplan said.
"Dr. Caplan has developed, moved and excited the field of cell therapy beyond his peers and inspired a world wide effort," said Stanton Gerson, MD. executive director of the National Center for Regenerative Medicine. "We are proud to recognize his years of service and leadership, creative spirit and commitment to fostering scientific collaboration, excellence and advancement in Mesenchymal Stem Cell research," said Gerson.
Caplan's research refines the technology necessary to isolate the mesenchymal stem cell. The MSC gives rise to bone-forming cells, cartilage-forming cells and cells of tendon, ligament fat, and dermis, as well as various connective tissues including the stroma of marrow. His studies integrate the work of both basic scientists and clinicians to more effectively translate these basic science findings into new, innovative human health care protocols using tissue engineering to repair skeletal tissues.
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About the National Center for Regenerative Medicine
The multi-institutional National Center for Regenerative Medicine was established in July 2003 by the Ohio Third Frontier Program (OTFP) and has received $47 million to support its mission to utilize human stem cells and tissue engineering technologies to treat human disease. The OTFP designated the NCRM as a Wright Center of Innovation to catalyze the 5-partner institutions: Case Western Reserve University, the Cleveland Clinic, University Hospitals Case Medical Center, Atherysy, Inc. and The Ohio State University, to commercialize new regenerative medicine technologies. Visit: case.edu/medicine/ncrm
About Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine
Founded in 1843, Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine is the largest medical research institution in Ohio and is among the nation's top medical schools for research funding from the National Institutes of Health. The School of Medicine is recognized throughout the international medical community for outstanding achievements in teaching. The School's innovative and pioneering Western Reserve2 curriculum interweaves four themes--research and scholarship, clinical mastery, leadership, and civic professionalism--to prepare students for the practice of evidence-based medicine in the rapidly changing health care environment of the 21st century. Nine Nobel Laureates have been affiliated with the School of Medicine.
Annually, the School of Medicine trains more than 800 MD and MD/PhD students and ranks in the top 25 among U.S. research-oriented medical schools as designated by U.S. News & World Report's "Guide to Graduate Education."
The School of Medicine's primary affiliate is University Hospitals Case Medical Center and is additionally affiliated with MetroHealth Medical Center, the Louis Stokes Cleveland Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center, and the Cleveland Clinic, with which it established the Cleveland Clinic Lerner College of Medicine of Case Western Reserve University in 2002. Visit: case.edu/medicine