First and foremost, a very Happy New Year and a successful start for 2026!
RMIP Research Spotlight
Register today for the next quarterly RMIP Research Spotlight featuring Dr. Anya (Ganna) Bilousova of the University of Colorado Anschutz on Friday, February 27th at 2:00-3:00 PM ET. No effective treatments are available for epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a group of rare inherited skin blistering disorders that can be devastating, and in some cases lethal. Current therapies are palliative and focus on promoting wound healing, nutritional support, and treating complications as early as possible. EB is caused by mutations in COL7A1, leading to absence or deficiency of functional collagen VII (Col7), an integral component in the adhesion of epithelia to dermis in the skin and mucous membranes. This research establishes a patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cell platform to correct COL7A1 mutations and generate autologous, gene-corrected keratinocytes and fibroblasts that restore type VII collagen expression. The development of this therapy was made possible through a close collaboration between researchers and clinicians, including Drs. Dennis Roop (Ph.D., Professor of Dermatology), Igor Kogut (Ph.D., Associate Professor of Dermatology), and Anna Bruckner (M.D., Professor of Dermatology). Using optimized reprogramming, gene-editing, and differentiation workflows, the work produced scalable protocols for generating COL7A1-expressing skin cells suitable for organotypic grafting and in vivo testing. Together, these advances lay the foundation for durable, autologous gene and cell therapies for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa that directly address the underlying molecular defect.
We hope that you will be able to join us for this Spotlight.
Funding Opportunities
The NHLBI Catalyze Program aims to provide a comprehensive support framework to accelerate the translation of basic scientific discoveries into viable diagnostic and therapeutic products. There are currently two active opportunities supporting product definition studies and pre-clinical research and development. Applications for product definitions are due February 11th, 2026 and preclinical services are due February 13th, 2026. Investigators performing heart, lung, blood, sleep and chemical countermeasure research are encouraged to apply.
The Regenerative Medicine Innovation Program (RMIP) has generated extensive single cell transcriptomic data, a valuable resource for identifying cell types within complex samples. This process depends on reliable molecular markers and gene signatures to distinguish subtypes.
We invite consortia members to participate in creating a community-generated catalog of these markers that can be used to identify cell types. A page has been created on the BDC community forum for investigators to share markers you use to identify specific cell types, and join discussions to generate gene sets and develop confidence metrics for cell type identification. By working together, we can establish a trusted, widely used reference to advance regenerative medicine research.
Publications
Congratulations to the following study teams for their recent publications or preprints:
Hyams N, Mei Y, et al., Continuous electrocardiogram monitoring in porcine model of myocardial ischemia reperfusion. Animal Model Exp Med. 2025 Nov 11;. doi: 10.1002/ame2.70103.
Rao RC, Stern J, et al., Safety and tolerability of RPESC-RPE transplantation in patients with dry age-related macular degeneration: Low-dose clinical outcomes. Cell Stem Cell. 2025 Nov 6;32(11):1659-1670.e4. doi: 10.1016/j.stem.2025.08.012.
Demirkol A, Tsang SH, et al., Generating a Preclinical Model for PITPNM3 and Evaluating Genotype-Phenotype Concordance: Insights from a Mouse Model. Cells. 2025 Oct 18;14(20). doi: 10.3390/cells14201626.
Warshauer EM, Roop D, et al., Sephardic origins revealed for rare skin disorder, recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa, in individuals carrying the unique c.6527insC mutation. J Med Genet. 2025 Sep 24;. doi: 10.1136/jmg-2025-110967.
If you have recently submitted or published a manuscript related to your RMIP award, please submit the citation to jstratford@rti.org.
Meet with us
BDC now has office hours each Wednesday from 2:00 to 3:00 PM ET to assist investigators with aggregating and harmonizing RMIP study data on the ecosystem.
We continue to coordinate one-on-one meetings with study teams to discuss a data linkage strategy. This strategy will ensure that the cell characterization data is prepared and formatted appropriately for seamless sharing with the study team. The goal is to facilitate efficient data transfer and analysis.
Jeran Stratford
January 2026 RMIP Updates
First and foremost, a very Happy New Year and a successful start for 2026!
RMIP Research Spotlight
Register today for the next quarterly RMIP Research Spotlight featuring Dr. Anya (Ganna) Bilousova of the University of Colorado Anschutz on Friday, February 27th at 2:00-3:00 PM ET. No effective treatments are available for epidermolysis bullosa (EB), a group of rare inherited skin blistering disorders that can be devastating, and in some cases lethal. Current therapies are palliative and focus on promoting wound healing, nutritional support, and treating complications as early as possible. EB is caused by mutations in COL7A1, leading to absence or deficiency of functional collagen VII (Col7), an integral component in the adhesion of epithelia to dermis in the skin and mucous membranes. This research establishes a patient-specific induced pluripotent stem cell platform to correct COL7A1 mutations and generate autologous, gene-corrected keratinocytes and fibroblasts that restore type VII collagen expression. The development of this therapy was made possible through a close collaboration between researchers and clinicians, including Drs. Dennis Roop (Ph.D., Professor of Dermatology), Igor Kogut (Ph.D., Associate Professor of Dermatology), and Anna Bruckner (M.D., Professor of Dermatology). Using optimized reprogramming, gene-editing, and differentiation workflows, the work produced scalable protocols for generating COL7A1-expressing skin cells suitable for organotypic grafting and in vivo testing. Together, these advances lay the foundation for durable, autologous gene and cell therapies for recessive dystrophic epidermolysis bullosa that directly address the underlying molecular defect.
We hope that you will be able to join us for this Spotlight.
Funding Opportunities
The NHLBI Catalyze Program aims to provide a comprehensive support framework to accelerate the translation of basic scientific discoveries into viable diagnostic and therapeutic products. There are currently two active opportunities supporting product definition studies and pre-clinical research and development. Applications for product definitions are due February 11th, 2026 and preclinical services are due February 13th, 2026. Investigators performing heart, lung, blood, sleep and chemical countermeasure research are encouraged to apply.
https://nhlbicatalyze.org/about
https://nhlbicatalyze.org/faq/product-definition/funding-opportunities
Catalog of Cell Type Molecular Markers
The Regenerative Medicine Innovation Program (RMIP) has generated extensive single cell transcriptomic data, a valuable resource for identifying cell types within complex samples. This process depends on reliable molecular markers and gene signatures to distinguish subtypes.
We invite consortia members to participate in creating a community-generated catalog of these markers that can be used to identify cell types. A page has been created on the BDC community forum for investigators to share markers you use to identify specific cell types, and join discussions to generate gene sets and develop confidence metrics for cell type identification. By working together, we can establish a trusted, widely used reference to advance regenerative medicine research.
Publications
Congratulations to the following study teams for their recent publications or preprints:
If you have recently submitted or published a manuscript related to your RMIP award, please submit the citation to jstratford@rti.org.
Meet with us
BDC now has office hours each Wednesday from 2:00 to 3:00 PM ET to assist investigators with aggregating and harmonizing RMIP study data on the ecosystem.
We continue to coordinate one-on-one meetings with study teams to discuss a data linkage strategy. This strategy will ensure that the cell characterization data is prepared and formatted appropriately for seamless sharing with the study team. The goal is to facilitate efficient data transfer and analysis.
Resources, Materials and Support
Slides and Video from RMIP Orientation
FAQs from the Orientation Sessions
BDC Resource Hub
Join the Community for full interaction with our support services
RMIP BDC Office Hours Wednesday 2:00-3:00PM ET
Velsera Seven Bridges Office Hours at on Tuesdays at 10:00-11:00 AM ET and Thursdays at 2:00-3:00 PM ET
BDC Powered by Seven Bridges Onboarding videos*
Submit suggestions for future short-form videos
Submit a question or raise a ticket with our Help Desk
Navigating BDC YouTube Channel
If you use BDC in your work, don’t forget to cite us.
BDC Documentation or the Seven Bridges Knowledge Center