2 May 2014 On Thursday 1st and Friday 2nd May 2014, the MRC Centre for Regenerative Medicine (CRM) ran a highly successful CPD accredited training course aimed at GPs, healthcare professionals and medical students who wished to learn more about the rapidly developing subject of stem cells and regenerative medicine. Image The ‘Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine: Current Status and Future Prospects’ course, funded by the Medical Research Council, introduced stem cells and how they are used to study diseases. In addition, internationally renowned speakers like Prof Michele De Luca, Prof Keith Muir, Prof Bal Dhillon, Prof Anthony Hollander, Prof Marc Turner and Prof Kevin Docherty highlighted recent and exciting clinical applications. Topics like stem cell tourism and the future prospects of stem cell therapies were covered by BBC journalist Elizabeth Quigley, consultant neurologist Dr Richard Davenport, Dr Carol George and Prof Sir Ian Wilmut. Dr Rachel Stepek, General Practicioner (GP), commented: “I’m really glad I came. I feel I now understand the basics of stem cells and regenerative medicine and am able to explain the developments in this emerging field to my patients. I would definitely recommend this course to my colleagues.” Some of the 46 attendees came from places close to Edinburgh, but many travelled from further afield to attend the course - for example York, Birmingham, The Netherlands, Italy, Bahrein and the Philippines. John Connelly, 4th year medical student, said: "I found it a very inspirational course. I particularly liked the clear translational relevance of the talks and the expertise of the speakers. Looking ahead and being interested in academic medicine, I would definitely consider CRM as a future centre to do a PhD." CRM intends to run this course again in 2015. If you would like to attend, please get in touch to express your interest. This article was published on 2024-02-26
