Neural Stem Cell Institute, Rensselaer NY

Stem cell research to cure nervous system disease

The Neural Stem Cell Institute (NSCI) is dedicated to developing regenerative stem cell therapies for various diseases of the central nervous system (CNS): the brain, spinal cord and retina, regardless of the cause of injury. Led by MacArthur “Genius” Award winner Dr. Sally Temple who helped discover and define nervous system stem cells, NSCI is the first independent, non-profit stem cell research institute in the USA.

• NSCI scientists were the first to discover that the CNS contains neural stem cells (NSC)
• NSCI scientists discovered a method to activate the NSCs that are present but normally dormant in adult CNS. Once activated, these endogenous NSCs mediate repair and regeneration of damaged CNS tissues, including spinal cord, optic nerve, retina and brain due to injury, trauma, stroke, Multiple Sclerosis, Parkinson’s, Alzheimer’s and other diseases of the CNS.
• NSCI scientists discovered a new NSC present in adult retina that self-renews to produce large numbers of progeny enabling replacement therapies, disease modeling and drug discovery using a patient’s own cells
• NSCI scientists discovered the interaction between blood vessels and NSCs, interactions that control CNS growth, repair and regeneration.
• Establishment of Neuracell, a not-for-profit NSC bank that provides unique stem cells and stem cell tools to scientists, laboratories and companies