Our Vision

Cellular and regenerative therapies through collaborative, innovative science.

Our Mission

To establish BC as a premier destination for the discovery, development and implementation of cellular and regenerative medicine therapies and technologies.

To engage and mobilize scientific and entrepreneurial community in BC, and beyond, facilitating collaboration leading translational and commercialization of basic discovery.

To train the next generation of researchers and innovators for a knowledge-based economy.

To inform policy and engage government, industry, NGO and key stakeholders.

The Regenerative Medicine Cluster Initiative

This Initiative stems out of a Canada First Research Excellence Fund (CFREF) application on regenerative medicine lead by Dr. Fabio Rossi, UBC.

In 2017, UBC established a Research Excellence Fund and recognized regenerative medicine as nascent Cluster of Excellence. This Cluster has generated a network of members in the BC academic community and positioned this group to capitalize on larger opportunities and initiatives.

Simon Fraser University, the University of Victoria and the University of British Columbia Okanagan have all come on board as strong supporters of the regenerative medicine cluster initiative in BC!

Emerging Canadian-led clinical trials (including a first-in-the-world clinical trial of pluripotent stem cell derived insulin-secreting progenitors contained within a vascularized device) are happening in Vancouver right now! These clinical trials have positioned British Columbia at the forefront of RM research.

We have launched this initiative to unite members of this research community and its stakeholders to capitalize on this timely and unique opportunity. Our goal is to position Regenerative Medicine as an exemplar life science sector-specific cluster that Canada can lead in, and that can prototype government recommendations for innovative cluster growth (i.e., training, scaling, local procurement, etc).

What We Do

This convergent research will accelerate options for devastating diseases, such as heart failure, neural degeneration, diabetes and autoimmunity. Our initiative will serve as a catalyst for the biotechnology sector important to the health and welfare of Canadians, foster interdisciplinary collaborations between academia and industry, and establish critical mass in this field.