Helper or Culprit: Re-Examining the Role of Fibroblasts in Dilated Cardiomyopathy
September 11, 2025 | Categories: Core Faculty, Research, Uncategorized |In a paper published in Science, a multidisciplinary ISCRM research team of biologists, engineers, and physicians shows that fibroblasts, often thought of as helpers, may weaken the heart by causing a harmful cycle of stiffening and scarring. Read More
Key Upgrade to Protective Cell Delivery System Offers Greater Control with Light
August 27, 2025 | Categories: Core Faculty, Research |The DeForest Research Group unveils a new tool, known as PhoCoil, that protects injected cells as they travel to their destination and gives scientists greater control over them once they arrive. Read More
Protein-Based Biomaterial Protects Injected Cells, Improves Engraftment
March 13, 2024 | Categories: Core Faculty, Research |Research led by Cole DeForest, PhD in collaboration with Chuck Murry, MD, PhD and Kelly Stevens, PhD details a new protein-based biomaterial that could help improve engraftment and function following injectable cell therapies. Read More
Meet the 2023 ISCRM IPA Recipients
June 22, 2023 | Categories: Award, Research |Cole DeForest, Ronald Young Kwon, Feini (Sylvia) Qu, and Meredith Redd have received the 2023 ISCRM Innovation Pilot Awards. Read More
SpyLigation Uses Light to Switch on Proteins
April 17, 2023 | Categories: Core Faculty, Research |Light-activation technology developed by the Cole DeForest Research Group has potential applications in tissue engineering, regenerative medicine, and understanding how the body works. Read More
Two ISCRM Trainees Named to 2021 Husky 100 List
June 14, 2021 | Categories: Award |ISCRM trainees Eric Scott Nealy, PhD and Kendan Jones-Isaac have been recognized for their contributions to cancer and kidney research. Read More
DeForest Lab Pioneers 4D Biomimicry Systems With Ingenuity, Collaboration, and an NIH Grant
October 1, 2020 | Categories: Award, Core Faculty, Uncategorized |In reality show terms, Cole DeForest and his team manufacture tiny bio-worlds staged to mimic living systems, force an eclectic cast of cells to cohabitate, apply light, heat, and chemicals to stir up drama, then record it all with sophisticated monitoring equipment. What they see on the tiniest scales, could have major implications for medicine. Read More
Improving Islet Transplantation to Treat Type 1 Diabetes
June 22, 2020 | Categories: Award |A major grant from the NIH will allow three ISCRM investigators to use their combined expertise in islet and stem cell biology, vascular biology and cellular immunology, and biomaterials to significantly improve the wellbeing of people with type 1 diabetes. Read More
ISCRM Faculty Shine a New Light on Scarring
October 12, 2018 | Categories: Research |Collaboration is the engine of scientific progress at UW Medicine and at the Institute of Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine (ISCRM), where 130 researchers are developing stem cell-based approaches to treat diseases affecting nearly every organ and system in the human body. Read More