Left to right: Dr Helmut Thissen, Veronica Glattauer and Dr John Ramshaw (all based in CSIRO Molecular and Health Technologies) at CSIRO Livestock Industries field station in Armidale, NSW

The work in this Flagship project involves the study of the basement membrane where the stem cells reside in the seminiferous tubules and in replicating this environment to provide a method for stem cell expansion in cell culture.

The purpose of this trip was to visit leading researchers in the area of basement membrane structure and function, and to expand and build on knowledge that could be further applied to the Flagship program.

Two significant international meetings, held consecutively in Pittsburgh, in the fields of Tissue Engineering and Biomaterials were also attended and both conferences provided excellent opportunities to meet leading researchers in these areas.
 

Veronica at the Society of Biomaterials Annual Meeting, Pennsylvania, USA

Laboratory visits included Professor Ina Dobrinski at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Kennett Square Philadelphia, who shares an interest in germ cell transplantation in domestic animals, Professor Barbara Brodsky at UMDNJ who is an expert in collagen structure and Professor Peter Yurchenco, also at UMDNJ, who is a basement membrane expert, and the New Jersey Centre for Biomaterials (Professor Joachim Kohn). Visits were also made to two relevant companies, LifeCell, a leading tissue engineering company and Wave Biotechnology, who have novel technologies for large scale cell culture that may be needed in the Flagship's research.

One week was also spent in the laboratory of Professor Lydia Sorokin in Munster, Germany. This laboratory specialises in the study of laminin, a key component of basement membranes.

The study trip provided a unique opportunity to visit highly recognized researchers in the area of basement membrane research. The various discussions during the trip clearly indicated that CSIRO has an excellent opportunity in stem cell studies through building further on our recognized understanding and application of basement membrane and extracellular matrix structure and function and there was a significant interest in developing collaborations with CSIRO.