New book explores stem cell therapies for heart disease (USA)

A new book edited by researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute and the Stony Brook University School of Medicine provides a comprehensive look at the science and application of cellular therapies aimed at the leading cause of death - heart disease. "Regenerating the Heart: Stem Cells and the Cardiovascular System" (Humana Press) is edited by Glenn Gaudette, associate professor of biomedical engineering at WPI, and Ira Cohen, professor of physiology and biophysics at Stony Brook. Recognized leaders in the field, Cohen and Gaudette have collaborated on cardiac regeneration research projects since 2002, when Gaudette was a faculty member at Stony Brook. Last year Humana Press asked the team to develop and edit the new book to serve as a foundational text for the emerging field. "We were fortunate to have leading investigators in this field, from around the word, contribute original material for this book," Gaudette said. "It's a book for clinicians, investigators, and graduate students who want to understand the history of the field, and to see where the science is today across all the major approaches of using stem cells to heal the beating heart."