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Mohn Research Centre for

Regenerative Medicine

In Mohn Research Centre for Regenerative Medicine (MRCRM), we aim to develop new cell-based therapies to repair or replace - to regenerate - tissues and cells damaged by disease or injury. Our research focus spans from biomedical to clinical research and clinical trials within the field of regenerative medicine, and our long-term aim is to offer patients new state-of-the-art therapies.

The goal of the Mohn Research Centre for Regenerative Medicine (MRCRM) is to support and strengthen the research environment within regenerative medicine in Bergen, with a particular focus on translating basic research into clinical st​udies that, in turn, will benefit the patients.

​We envision the Centre as an umbrella for the scientific community within this research area, providing a common hub where new research collaborations and ideas can evolve and take the field to the next level. 

We organize events​​​ for the community regularly.

The Centre is a strategic initiative from Haukeland University Hospital at Helse Bergen Health Trust and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Bergen, financed by Trond Mohn Foundation for five years. MRCRM builds on an active research environment and the newly established Ex vivo facility at the Laboratory building at Haukeland. This labo​ratory is a high-grade cleanroom facility operating under Good Manufacturing Practice (GMP) and will manufacture the cells for clinical trials affiliated with the Centre.​ 

The​ initial research projects affiliated to the Centre, and recruited through a generous grant by the Trond Mohn Foundation are presented below. 

The objectives of the MRCRM are to coordinate groundbreaking fundamental research, and give patients access to state-of-the-art therapies, initially in clinical trials but later as established advanced, personalized treatment, see below. We will achieve this by:

  • ​Being the hub for the scientific community

  • Supporting and promoting fundamental and translational stem cell research

  • Enabling clinical trials with advanced therapy medicinal products (ATMPs) based on tissues and cells, employing the new GMP laboratory at Haukeland

  • Assisting in steering through the approval process by the Norwegian Medicinal Agency

  • Implementing novel therapies using ATMPs


​Read more about our events and the MRCRM seminar series here​.

Read more about the new clean-room cell production laboratory called the Ex vivo facility.

In August 2021, the Helse Bergen Health Trust and the University of Bergen established the Mohn Research Centre for Regenerative Medicine. Four research projects, recruited through grants from the Trond Mohn Foundation, comprise the initial scientific foundation of the Centre. 

The Trond Mohn Foundation has generously supported the initiative with 30 MNOK, and the host institutions have contributed with in total 60 MNOK. The Helse Bergen Health Trust has also invested a considerable amount in the new “Ex Vivo” cell production facility, which will be operable at Haukeland University Hospital by the end of 2022. 

The administrative unit of the Centre is located at the Department of Immunology and Transfusion Medicine in the Laboratory Building at Haukeland University Hospital. Still, our research is spread to dedicated laboratories and buildings around Bergen. Thus, so far this is a centre “without walls”. ​

The MRCRM Team

The appointed centre leader is Professor and MD Einar K. Kristoffersen, Head of the Department of Immunology and Transfusion Medicine at Haukeland University Hospital. He chairs the MRCRM Management group​, which meets monthly to discuss strategic and practical issues. 

The MRCRM Steering Group is chaired by the Helse Bergen deputy CEO Clara Gjesdal, and consists of representatives from the Helse Bergen Health Trust, the University of Bergen and the Trond Mohn Foundation. 

An international Scientific Advisory Board ​(SAB) has been established and consists of representatives with high compentency on cell therapy and research centre development. The role of the SAB ​is to support and evaluate the Centre.


If you would like to join the Centre or be informed about MRCRM-related activities and upcoming events, send us an e-mail or see contact information below​. ​​​​

What should one do when bones in the mouth disappear?

It's about bones, stem cells, and the stimulation of growth factors in tissue when the dentist and postdoctoral researcher Siddharth Vivek Shanbhag (38) explains his research. Last week, he received the Health West Young Researcher Award for his studies on bone defect regeneration.

 

Read more (in Norwegian).

Ung forskar-pris: Kva gjer ein når bein i munnen forsvinn?
A person in a white coat

The core Centre projects - funded by the TMF

  • Illustrasjon. Seks personer ser på dokumenter med DNA- molekyler.
    Establishing 'blue-print' Good Manufacturing Practice protocols for gene therapy

    In this project, led by Einar K. Kristoffersen, researchers in Bergen and Oslo are cooperating to develop template protocols for manufacturing gene-edited cells to be used in patient treatment. 

  • Illustrasjon. Ordsky schizophrenia.
    Personalised medicine in psychosis treatment

    In the psychosis project, led by Erik Johnsen, the research group aims to improve the current diagnostics for patients with schizophrenia.

  • Interiør laboratorium prøvebehandling. Foto
    Using stem cells for clinical treatment of osteonecrosis

    In the OsteoStem project, led by Kamal Mustafa and Evelyn Neppelberg, the researchers are evaluating the safety and efficacy of stem cells in the treatment of bone defects in patients with osteonecrosis.

  • Helsepersonell iført smittevernutstyr behandler pasient. Foto
    Using stem cells for wound healing

    In this project, led by Cecilie Bredrup and Stian K. Almeland, the researchers are using mesenchymal stem cell transplantation to heal wounds of the eye and skin.

Other Centre projects

  • A woman in a pink shirt
    Immune-driven tissue regeneration

    The "STEMreg" project is headed by Salwa Suliman and is funded by the Trond Mohn Foundation under the scheme TMS Starting grant from 2021-2025. 

  • Logo Stone Bone Reg - Trond Mohn Stiftelse
    Reconstruction of mandibular bone using stem cells and biomedical engineering approaches

    In the StemBoneReg project, stem cell therapy combined with biomaterials is used to reconstruct the mandibular bone. This strategy has already been proven successful for alveolar bone reconstruction in an early phase clinical trial. The pro...

News

  • 28. november 2023
    Helse Vest funding to three projects on regenerative medicine

    The Regional Collaborative Organization for Research and Innovation (Samarbeidsorganet) awarded funds on November 24, 2023, to 68 out of the total 248 applications submitted before the September 15 deadline. Notably, funding was awared to three applications focused on mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) treatment.

  • Woman smiling while standing next to roll up  at conference. Photo
    15. september 2023
    PhD candidate Astrid B. Jenssen won the "best poster presentation" award

    Astrid Bjørke Jenssen, PhD student at the Burn wounds project, won the award for the best poster presentation on the 20th European Burns Association (EBA) congress.

  • Group photo of participants at conference. Photo
    7. september 2023
    International Meeting on Regenerative Medicine

    In April, we hosted our first conference; the MRCRM 1st International Meeting on Regenerative Medicine, at Scandic Hotel Ørnen in Bergen. 

E-mail: MRCRM@helse-bergen.no

Elise Aasebø (coordinator)
Department of Immunology and Transfusion
Haukeland University Hospital

E-mail: elise.aasebo@helse-bergen.no
Phone: 55 97 30 45

Einar Klæbo Kristoffersen (Centre Leader)
Head of Department, Professor II
Department of Immunology and Transfusion
Haukeland University Hospital

E-mail: einar.kleboe.kristoffersen@helse-bergen.no
Phone: 55 97 46 83  /  48 17 12 72

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The Mohn Research Centre for Regenerative Medicine is supported by the Trond Mohn Foundation, University of Bergen, and Haukeland University Hospital.​​​​
Last updated 9/22/2023