Advanced Technologies, Methods and Resources

Advanced Therapeutics Cluster

The University of Massachusetts School of Medicine's major discoveries in RNA biology has resulted in the creation of the Advanced Therapeutics Cluster (ATC) that anneals three emerging scientific fields that promise to transform bench to bedside translational research. The Advanced Therapeutics Cluster will include the

  1. RNAi Therapeutics Institute.
  2. Center for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine.
  3. Gene Therapy Center.

Each of these fields represents an important new matrix unit within the school, bringing together newly recruited faculty from basic science and clinical departments into adjacent space with a common pool of startup funding.  The mission of each center or institute is to spawn new translational therapies based on a core technology.  The clustering of the three centers recognizes the important areas of interconnectivity, such as the use of viral vectors to delivery of RNAi or the use of genetic modification to optimize stem cell function in the context of regenerative medicine applications.

These programs, combined with two novel corporate relationships (Abbott Bioresearch Center and Charles River Laboratories) establish a platform of technologies, methodologies and expertise enabling the continuous development of innovative approaches and technologies in clinical and translational research. 

Specific thematic areas of emphasis for the ATC on the Worcester campus are those aligned with researchers in the Clinical Centers of Excellence:

  • cancer,
  • heart and vascular diseases,
  • musculoskeletal diseases,
  • diabetes,

and in

  • immunology/infectious disease,
  • addiction research, and
  • neurodegenerative diseases.

Existing Programs

The ATC joins the following well-established programs already in existence at our university:

  1. Massachusetts Biologic Laboratories (MBL), the only FDA licensed facility for the production and distribution of vaccines and biologics owned and operated by a University.
  2. Commonwealth Medicine (CWM), a novel organization that delivers improved health outcomes for those served by public health and human services agencies.
  3. Massachusetts Medical Device Development Center (M2D2) which offers faculty inventors and small medical device companies all the resources necessary from proof-of-concept to commercialization.

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