Dresden International Graduate School for Biomedicine and Bioengineering

Regenerative and Degenerative Biology

Regeneration is the renewal of degenerated or lost cells, tissues or organs within an organism. Such regenerative processes are mainly based on the action of specific stem or progenitor cells that possess the capacity to proliferate and differentiate into the required cell-types. In Dresden the mechanisms of regeneration and stem cell function are studied to understand general principles of cellular and tissue repair with the aim to use this knowledge to develop novel therapies. Diverse strategies for in depth genetic, molecular and cellular analysis are used to dissect fundamental pathways of tissue regeneration. Animals with high regenerative capacities are utilized to understand intrinsic mechanisms of regeneration as models to induce tissue repair also in mammals. Additionally, the controlled expansion and directed differentiation of stem cells towards specific target cell-types is assessed to develop cell replacement strategies for currently incurable diseases.