Page 16 - Gates-AnnualReport-2017

COLLABORATION EXPANDS OUR REACH
Valeria Canto-Soler, Ph.D.
COLLABORATION ACROSS CAMPUS:
CellSight Program
The recruitment of Valeria Canto-Soler, Ph.D., from Johns Hopkins University in July 2017 as the inaugural director of CellSight was made possible by a visionary collaboration conceived by Gates Center leaders Diane Gates Wallach and Dennis Roop, and Ophthalmology leaders Naresh Mandava and Mark Petrash. Canto-Soler’s research first stirred excitement in 2014 when she was the first in the world to publish evidence showing how to induce stem cells in a culture dish to grow into miniature human retinas that sense light. Having grown up in Mendoza, Argentina, which is similar in climate and character to Colorado, and having brought along most of her team from Hopkins, Valeria feels very much at home on and off campus. A centerpiece of the CellSight program she oversees is a state-of-the-art stem cell culture facility (see photo on page 12), where CellSight researchers coax human iPS cells over a period of months to develop into light-responsive retinal tissue—material that may one day be transplanted to restore vision in patients with retinal degeneration. Designed with the intent to support a variety
of stem cell projects beyond those within the Department of Ophthalmology, the CellSight culture facility will bring together scientists from diverse areas to collaborate on cell-based strategies to treat diseases and degenerative conditions that are among today’s biggest medical challenges.
Valeria creates miniature layers of the retina, which replicate the structure of the human eye and respond to light. The challenge is that these “organoids” require a nine-month gestation, which necessitated the construction of a “bomb-proof” culture facility. There are two labs where the organoids will grow under strict environmental control: a training area and a quarantine chamber. Moreover, the new culture facility is large enough to accommodate users from many disciplines on the Anschutz Medical Campus. The Department of Ophthalmology’s Professor and Vice Chair of Research and Associate Director of the Gates Center Mark Petrash anticipates the culture facility’s future use not only by the Department of Ophthalmology, but also by those working on growing organoids representing the brain, heart, GI tract, and more.
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