Stem cell research has the potential to revolutionize the clinical armamentarium for debilitating diseases caused by ageing, organ failure and cancer.  Research in the Boyd laboratory investigates applications of stem cell biology and immunology in cell therapy and regenerative medicine, focusing on the applicability of pluripotent stem cell derived tissues to regenerative medicine and tissue engineering. To do this, we utilise embryonic stem cells (ESCs) and induced pluripotent stem cells (iPS cells) to generate models of disease as platforms for drug testing and with a view to developing future cell replacement/regenerative medicine therapies.

IPS cells are adult tissue cells (e.g. skin or blood cells) that have been ‘reprogrammed’ back to a stem cell state via the introduction of transcription factors responsible for the maintenance of stem cell characteristics.  Similar in developmental capacity to ESCs, but being made in an ethically conscious manner, iPS cells not only have the potential to form all the cells within the body but, because they are patient-specific, could in the future, provide tissues for cell replacement therapies and enable autologous (self) transplantation. However, at present, their greatest utility may lie in their ability to be used as a tool to understand disease pathology and identify drug targets. 

Our major disease interest is Diabetes Mellitus (hereafter diabetes), a condition in which the body is unable to regulate glucose levels due to a lack or malfunction of the hormone insulin, resulting in widespread tissue pathology. Autoimmune Type 1 diabetes (T1D) is caused by the specific destruction of the insulin-producing pancreatic β cells, causing a complete lack of insulin. Whereas in Type II diabetes (TIID), insulin production is still active, but is insufficient and unable to control blood glucose levels.

We are studying and modelling the major comorbidities which arise in diabetic patients, including renal nephropathy and fibrosis, cardiovascular dysfunction and impaired wound healing. To do this, we use iPS cells derived from both healthy and diabetic patients to dissect and understand the development and pathogenesis of these conditions in their various tissue settings with the aims of understanding more about the differences between the normal and diseased states, to identify potential therapeutic targets for intervention. Projects in the lab use a combination of stem cell and bioengineering approaches including: iPS cell targeted lineage differentiation, development of 3D tissue organoids, tissue decellularisation for scaffold and matrix development, development of novel tissue matrices and scaffolds, and genome editing techniques including CRISPR/Cas to engineer new stem cell lines for disease modelling. Another ongoing interest is in studying the immunogenicity of stem cell derived tissues, which could be a hurdle to the translation of stem cell therapies and warrants further study.