Researchers at The University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA), US, are using the Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker Fund to make new discoveries in brain health.

With the Voelcker Fund, UTSA is planning to bring stem cell and regenerative medicine research to new heights.

Go deeper with GlobalData

Data Insights

The gold standard of business intelligence.

Find out more

Related Company Profiles

View all

UTSA professor John McCarrey said: “In the past, researchers used skin or blood cells from a person with a disease like Alzheimer’s to get a closer look at their illness.

“However, because Alzheimer’s is a disease of the brain, not of the blood or skin, it was questionable whether looking at those cells was particularly useful.”

McCarrey collaborated with Max and Minnie Tomerlin Voelcker distinguished professor in chemistry Doug Frantz, associate professor of research Chris Navara, and Semmes Foundation distinguished university chair in Neurobiology George Perry to create PriStem.

PriStem is a UTSA facility solely focused on finding methods to treat neuro-degenerative disease, as well as other afflictions with pluripotent stem cells.

How well do you really know your competitors?

Access the most comprehensive Company Profiles on the market, powered by GlobalData. Save hours of research. Gain competitive edge.

Company Profile – free sample

Thank you!

Your download email will arrive shortly

Not ready to buy yet? Download a free sample

We are confident about the unique quality of our Company Profiles. However, we want you to make the most beneficial decision for your business, so we offer a free sample that you can download by submitting the below form

By GlobalData
Visit our Privacy Policy for more information about our services, how we may use, process and share your personal data, including information of your rights in respect of your personal data and how you can unsubscribe from future marketing communications. Our services are intended for corporate subscribers and you warrant that the email address submitted is your corporate email address.
“In the past, researchers used skin or blood cells from a person with a disease like Alzheimer’s to get a closer look at their illness.”

In order to get to the core of neurodegenerative disease, the UTSA researchers felt that it is necessary to look at afflicted brain cells.

For this, they are using pluripotent stem cells that can become any kind of cell in a person’s body.

This gives PriStem the ability to study neurodegenerative disease using any cell from the body of a patient and change it into an actual brain cell that may as well have come from the person.

Known as ‘disease in a dish,’ this personalised research can be used to test drugs designed to treat illnesses of all kinds.

The Voelcker Fund is also supporting research opportunities for the university’s undergraduate and graduate students to help them gain experience working in cutting-edge laboratories.