July 12th, 2022

Dr. Diana Farmer and Dr. Aijun Wang are serving as Principal Investigators for a collaborative project with newly funded National Center for Interventional Biophotonic Technologies (NCIBT) at UC Davis. NCIBT was funded by the recent $6.3 million P41 grant from NIH’s National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) as a national Center for Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering. NCIBT develops technologies for more precise and timely assessments of tissue physiology, biochemistry, and metabolism. Drs. Farmer and Wang are leading one of the Collaborative Projects to leverage the new NCIBT technologies to refine in utero repair of fetal myelomeningocele.

June 17th, 2022

Our research team from UC Davis Biomedical Engineering has recently been awarded a $3.1 million, two-year grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) for an innovative medical device that could improve treatment outcomes and the quality of life for the more than two million people throughout the world who are on hemodialysis.

May 26th, 2022

Dr. Aijun Wang and team receives funds to develop a smart durable vascular device for hemodialysis patients treated for kidney failure. This device uses a unique molecule that guides the body’s own stem cells to help prevent the failure of synthetic vascular grafts. Such failures are a common problem for kidney disease patients undergoing hemodialysis.

April 28th, 2022

Dr. Aijun Wang receives funds to lead his team’s study, Extracellular Vesicle Theranostics in the Central Nervous System. This collaborative study includes researchers from surgical subspecialties, pharmacology, biomedical engineering, pathology, and computer science.

July 27th, 2021

Dr. Aijun Wang and Dr. Diana Farmer have been selected as part of 8 teams to receive funding from this year's UC Davis Science Translation and Innovative Research (STAIR™) grant program!

May 5th, 2021

Dr. Aijun Wang, a biomedical engineer and associate professor in the UC Davis Department of Surgery, speaks on his interest in improving arteriovenous (AV) grafts used during kidney dialysis.  

March 3rd, 2021

The team at UC Davis – in a CIRM-funded study – will use a stem cell “patch” that is placed over the exposed spinal cord, then surgically close the opening, hopefully allowing the stem cells to regenerate and protect the spinal cord.

March 1st, 2021

A UC Davis Health team today announced the launch of the world’s first, FDA-approved human clinical trial using stem cells before birth to treat the most serious form of spina bifida. 

February 18th, 2021

Faculty innovators Aijun Wang, Alyssa Panitch, and Kit Lam have formed a startup, VasoBio, to develop technology that may improve arteriovenous (AV) grafts used during kidney dialysis. 

November 13th, 2020

The first human clinical trial using stem cells to treat spina bifida has been made possible thanks to a $9 million grant provided on Nov. 12 by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

November 12th, 2020

California’s stem cell agency (CIRM) today awarded a $9 million grant to Dr. Diana Farmer and Dr. Aijun Wang to help launch the world’s first human clinical trial using stem cells to treat spina bifida, a birth defect that occurs when the spine and spinal cord don't form properly.

October 8th, 2020

Shriners Hospitals for Children — Northern California’s surgeon in chief, Diana L. Farmer, M.D., FACS, FRCS, and principal investigator for the Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine, Aijun Wang, Ph.D., have received approval for a human clinical trial from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to test an innovative stem cell therapy that integrates regenerative medicine and surgery.

September 24, 2020

One-of-a-kind treatment approved for human testing. A UC Davis Health fetal surgeon and a stem cell scientist have received approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to test a groundbreaking spina bifida treatment that combines surgery with stem cells. The one-of-a-kind treatment, delivered while the baby is still in the mother’s womb, could improve outcomes for children with the birth defect.

August 17, 2020

Funding will be used to create bio-engineered vascular grafts.

Congratulations to Dr. Wang for his recent KidneyX award in developing next-generation vascular grafts for end-stage renal disease patients' hemodialysis applications. He plans to engineer a layer of stem cell-capturing molecules to coat the surface of the grafts, forming a “living” endothelium that functions much like a native vein. The new grafts are expected to reduce thrombosis, infection and the need for repeated replacement of failed grafts.

July 1, 2020

Congratulations to the Surgical Bioengineering Laboratory Research Program Team (team leader Dr. Aijun Wang) for winning the UC Davis Health Deans’ Team Award for Excellence in Research! 

The Surgical Bioengineering Laboratory Research Program team is a key research center of the Department of Surgery for making high impact discoveries through a multidisciplinary, collaborative team-based approach with mentoring opportunities. Research within the lab has generated considerable impact in the biomedical engineering and regenerative medicine fields......

More details can be found here: https://health.ucdavis.edu/facultydev/Awards/list_deansteamaward.html

March 12, 2020

This study is in the top 5% (the 97th percentile) of all research outputs ever tracked by Altmetric:  https://wiley.altmetric.com/details/77402928

STEM CELLS Transl Med: https://stemcellsportal.com/press-releases/induced-pluripotent-stem-cells-show-success-treating-hemophilia-mice

Medical Health News (Alternative Medicine): http://www.medicalhealthnews.net/cell-btherapyb-seen-to-ease-blood-loss-in-hemophilia-a-mouse-model

Hemophilia News Today: https://hemophilianewstoday.com/2020/03/23/cell-therapy-seen-to-ease-blood-loss-in-hemophilia-a-mouse-model/

Biomedical Engineering: A Bench-to-Bedside Experience at the UC Davis Health Campus will give third-year biomedical engineering majors exposure to their field in the clinical environment, bringing engineering faculty together with medical departments. 

February 17-18, 2020

January 21, 2020

UC Davis has named its new class of Chancellor’s Fellows, marking the 20th anniversary of the program that provides philanthropic support to exceptional early-career faculty members. 

Dr. Wang's research focuses on developing innovative tools, technologies and therapeutics that combine molecular, cellular, tissue and biomaterial engineering to promote tissue regeneration and restore function. One of his lab’s main efforts has focused on isolating stem cells from human placental tissue, then using those stem cells to treat birth defects such as spina bifida and hemophilia. In addition to published papers, he functions as an influential advocate for academic entrepreneurship. 

“Dr. Wang is an extremely talented young scientist who has demonstrated that his academic productivity is rigorous and innovative. ... His many publications, patents, conference invitations, and awards are a testament to his success as a leader in his field.” — Ted Wun, associate dean for research, School of Medicine

November 6, 2019

Dr. Wang was invited to give a departmental seminar at UC Riverside Department of Bioengineering: 

Surgical Bioengineering - Engineering Stem Cells and Extracellular Components for Tissue Regeneration

August 6, 2019

Spina bifida is the most common permanently disabling birth defect in the United States. About 1,645 babies are born in the U.S. with spina bifida each year, and fetal surgery and research is givin...

www.fetalhealthfoundation.org

March 9, 2019

Researchers on the path to finding a cure for spina bifida have identified specific elements in stem cell secretions as key to protecting neurons and ultimately reducing the lower-limb paralysis as...

www.eurekalert.org​​​​​​

March 8, 2019

A diagram of an infant born with spina bifida, a birth defect where there is an incomplete closing of the backbone portion of the spinal cord. Photo courtesy of the Texas Children’s Hospital …

blog.cirm.ca.gov

March 5, 2019

Study reveals factors in stem cell secretions that protect neurons and reduce spinal cord injury. Researchers on the path to finding a cure for spina bifida have identified specific elements in stem cell secretions as key to protecting neurons and ultimately reducing the lower-limb paralysis associated with the birth defect.

January 28, 2019

Cell therapy with endothelial progenitor cells and stem cells genetically engineered to produce a functional clotting factor VIII (FVIII) may provide a stable and long-term...

hemophilianewstoday.com

December 13, 2018

University of California Biomedical, Research, Acceleration, Integration, & Development (UC BRAID) creates opportunities to improve health for Californians and beyond. Our...

www.ucbraid.org

November 15, 2018

Every day in the U.S. four children are born with spina bifida. It is the most common cause of lifelong paralysis and also frequently leads to other serious health problems affecting the bowel and …

blog.cirm.ca.gov​​​​

October 15, 2018

Every year, the second Wednesday in October is set aside as Stem Cell Awareness Day, a time to celebrate the progress being made in the field and to remind us of the challenges that lie ahead. Whil…

blog.cirm.ca.gov

January 7, 2018

At UC Davis, doctors in the world's #1 veterinary medicine program insert stem cells into bulldogs with spinal bifida and assess lame horses with the most advanced scanner ever — a Saudi prince onc...

www.latimes.com

September 20, 2017

Siblings Darla and Spanky were treated with a therapy for children with spina bifida. A video shows the puppies showing off their ability to walk, run and play in Davis, California.

www.dailymail.co.uk

August 29, 2017

A UC Davis-developed therapy that shows great promise helps two pups in need.

www.universityofcalifornia.edu

April 27, 2015

The lower-limb paralysis associated with spina bifida may be effectively treated before birth by combining a unique stem cell therapy with surgery, new research has found.

www.sciencedaily.com