UW ISCRM Tour

( 4.16.26  )                                    Written by Gio Kim                          

Today (April 16th), I had the fortunate opportunity to visit UW Institute of Stem Cell & Regenerative Medicine Institute. At the tour, I was able to visit 4 labs and meet a lot of great faculty members who were all researching a variety of topics that all led to either the usage of stem cells or regenerative medicine.

The lab that stood out to me the most was Dr. Kwon's lab, who used zebrafish to study osteoporosis than mice. Through the tour of his lab, I came into shock when I saw a room full of plastic buckets of zebrafish all in an array. Each bucket had a label and as what Dr. Kwon explained, each bucket had a zebrafish with a genetic mutation, ranging from knocking out genes to adding new ones. The most insightful takeaway I had from Dr. Kwon was that osteoporosis is a genetic disease and that in an evolutionary standpoint, having lower bone mass could have been advantageous. By being genetic, people have the ability to completely eradicate such disease by making sure their offsprings do not have the genetic code for osteoporosis, showing a sign of hope. 

After touring the lab, I had the opportunity to meet with 2 pathology residents. With them, I was able to observe and touch the human lungs, bladder, and heart. The human lungs have been the most insightful to me; I saw the lungs of former cystic fibrosis patients and comparing that to a "normal" lung, the lungs were abnormally porous, with the holes being about the size of the tip of an index finger. Speaking with the pathology residents, I gained a deeper insight into their field, where they frequently do histopathology and autopsies as residents.

Overall, this experience has provided me a deeper knowledge into the field of regenerative medicine and the healthcare system. Learning about each of the labs work, talking to the residents, and discussing with faculty members have given me a fortunate opportunity to meet new people who are doing amazing work in the scientific field. While it was unfortunate I was not able to take any photos, I had an enlightening time there and it makes me excited to one day help around at UW. It also gave me hope with the field of regenerative medicine as I myself have a problem with my left knee cartilage that future stem cell treatment might be able to fix.