Page 25 - Gates-AnnualReport-2014

GATES CENTER ADDITIONS
Generating human red blood cells (Courtesy of Greg Bird, PhD, Brian Turner, PhD and Yosef Refaeli, PhD): A major technological breakthrough now allows the expansion of human blood stem cells in the laboratory. The expanded human blood stem cells can be differentiated into erythroid progenitor cells (large pink cells with a nucleus (purple)) which
give rise to mature red blood cells (small red cells). This technology makes it feasible to generate an unlimited supply of pathogen free human blood.
The Gates Center is committed to doing everything possible to accelerate scientific discovery in stem-cell research into new areas of treatment, and that includes helping attract a critical mass of scientists with complementary scientific expertise as well as skilled professionals and community leadership to collaborate in translating laboratory research to clinical and commercial use. During the 2014 year, the Gates Center participated in several outstanding recruitments within these categories.
Janelle Blessing: Janelle Blessing, who grew up in Littleton and graduated from Fort Lewis College, joined the Gates Center Community Advisory Board in fall 2014. A strong advocate of conservation, she performed field research for Fort Lewis College and Oak Ridge National Laboratory for three summers during college, assessing the effects of the Yellowstone fires of 1989. Janelle’s diverse interests and capabilities have also led her into the fields of medicine and finance, respectively, as a registered nurse at Swedish Medical Center and Boulder Community Hospital and then as a financial planner. She has served
on the boards of the Family Learning Center and Pikes Peak Community Foundation and is
Gates Center for Regenerative Medicine 25