One of the world's foremost stem cell researchers is returning to Canada to head up a new centre for regenerative medicine in Toronto, which officially opens its doors Wednesday.
Gordon Keller left his native Saskatchewan 16 years ago to work in the United States, and has spent the last seven at New York's Mount Sinai School of Medicine, where his lab has performed groundbreaking research generating various types of cells from embryonic stem cells.
Despite being touted by New York Magazine earlier this year as one of six doctors the city couldn't afford to lose, Mr. Keller jumped at the chance to become founding director of the University Health Network's McEwen Centre for Regenerative Medicine.
Among his reasons for heading north: "The opportunity to work with what I think is the best stem cell community in the world," Mr. Keller said in an interview.
"One of the unique features, I think, is the existing strength of both stem cell biology and regenerative medicine in Toronto in a very defined area. A lot of the institutes are close to each other . . . with each of them housing really superb scientists."
The centre, given $10-million in start-up funding by Rob and Cheryl McEwen, initially will include 15 researchers from the University Health Network, the Hospital for Sick Children, Mount Sinai Hospital and the University of Toronto.
Included in the team are internationally recognized experts in stem cell research, regenerative medicine and molecular biology.
"One of the reasons I was really attracted to the position was the collaborative nature of the group," said Mr. Keller, who will take the helm in January. "I think we have a great opportunity to bring these people together in one centre to really push the field forward."
Regenerative medicine, he explained, is "that aspect of medicine that aims to either repair or replace tissue damaged by disease, accident or age." Scientists will focus on four key areas: cardiovascular disease, spinal cord injury, diabetes and blood disorders.
Much of the work will involve basic bench work science to improve understanding of how stem cells and other cells work and become diseased. More cutting-edge research includes growing human heart, liver and pancreatic cells from stem cells and testing drug compounds on them in the lab.
"We have to be careful not to over-hype or over-promise, to say that by next year we're going to be squirting new heart cells into people and they're going to get up and run a marathon," Mr. Keller said. "But on the other hand we want to balance it to say this is a new way of looking at disease treatment."
"The long-term hope is to bring to society better, more effective treatments."