2001 Research Fellow

Adetokunbo A. Oyelese, MD, PhD
Stanford University Medical Center
Chairman: Gary K. Steinberg, MD, PhD
Sponsor: Theo D. Palmer, PhD

Research Title: Neural Transdifferentiation of Bone Marrow
Stromal Cells

There is increasing interest in developing autologous stem cell transplants for CNS repair. Marrow stromal stem cells are easily accessible and appear able to transdifferentiate into neurons. For bone marrow-derived stem cells to be effective in neural transplant, they must respond to local cues provided by the brain and form functional neurons in a site-specific manner. This study will directly compare marrow-and brain- derived stem cells to determine the extent to which these cells can be interchanged. In addition the study will identify specific limitations or advantages intrinsic to marrow cells that will impact future use of non-neural stem cell populations for CNS repair