Stem cells are the source of all tissues in the body and are involved in tissue repair following disease and/or trauma. In human health care, stem cells are expected to provide the basis for a wide variety of replacement therapies for blood, cardiovascular, skeletal and muscular disease, as well as provide insight into cancer treatment. Within the coming years new medical therapies will take advantage of stem cells generated from a patient’s own tissues, stem cells stored in cord blood banks, human ES or iPS cells or perhaps even commercially available universal stem cells. These stem cells will be used either in clinical transplantation of patients, as supportive cells for the in vitro growth of other cell types for clinical therapies, or as the basis for drug discovery efforts and drug efficacy testing. To realize such therapies, a full understanding of stem cell development and biology is required and hence, in 2008, Erasmus MC initiated the Erasmus Stem Cell Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

The Erasmus Stem Cell Institute for Regenerative Medicine (ESI) has a strong commitment to fundamental and translational research that will facilitate stem cell therapies and innovative medical advances in the Erasmus MC. The investment of Erasmus MC into world-class stem cell research programs in ESI will result not only in novel medical treatments, but also ensures the high quality education of the next generation of clinicians. It is these young medics that will bring these new therapies to the clinics and provide reliable stem cell applications to meet the growing medical needs of the community. Moreover, the ESI plays an important role in public education, informing the community of the latest medical advances and providing links to important stem cell information sources. With the Erasmus MC ranked as the top clinical research academic medical center in Europe (as published by Times Higher Education), ESI is well-positioned to bring this vision to reality.