The Story
Miller wanted to know why a cut finger can mend and feel again, but a damaged brain or spinal cord cannot. Working with colleague Jean Toma, Miller started searching for an answer by looking at the stem cells in skin--the cells that are able to grow and change into different kinds of cells as needed. Miller is now trying to figure out if you can use stem cells from skin to grow new nerve cells in the brain or spinal cord. Her research is also significant because it shows that something as simple and available as skin can provide stem cells thereby avoiding using stem cells from human embryos, which is ethically questioned by some. Miller found that stem cells can be extracted from the deepest layers of the skin of mice, and if they can become muscle, fat, or nerve cells it could lead to revolutionary new medical therapies.
The Science
Freda Miller specializes in stem cell research. She is best known for her studies of nerve and skin stem cells. Discoveries from her lab have provided evidence that adult mammalian skin contains an accessible multipotent dermal stem cell that can generate peripheral neural cells.
What are induced pluripotent stem cells? Narrated by Dr. Mick Bhatia from Stem Cell Network on Vimeo.
The Person
- Birthdate
- January 27, 1957
- Birthplace
- Calgary
- Residence
- Toronto, Ontario
- Favorite Music
- Arthur Rubinstein playing piano concertos and Glenn Gould playing Bach.
- Other Interests
- Dance and yoga, mountain biking, hiking, skiing, and snow-shoeing, playing piano, and travel.
- Title
- Professor and Canada Research Chair in Developmental Neurobiology
- Office
- Hospital for Sick Children Research Institute, Toronto
- Status
- Working
- Degrees
-
- BSc University of Saskatchewan, 1979
- PhD University of Calgary, 1984
- Awards
-
- Fellow of the Royal Society of Canada
- Last Updated
- October 28, 2013
- Popularity
- 33974
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