Imagine a day when doctors can use a patient's own skin cells to make old hearts young again, grow a new heart valve or restore an irregular heartbeat without a pacemaker. That day is closer than you think.

Scientists and researchers from across the globe convened at MUSC's new Bioengineering Building to mark the first international symposium regarding cardiovascular regeneration. MUSC President Ray Greenberg, M.D., Ph.D., and Dr.

Rafael Beyar, chief executive officer and director general of Rambam Health Care Campus, signed a memorandum of understanding for further collaboration among the medical university and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and the Rambam Health Care Campus, located in Haifa, Israel.

Drs. Ray Greenberg and Rafael Beyar from Israel sign a memorandum of understanding for further collaboration among the medical university and the Technion-Israel Institute of Technology and the Rambam Health Care Campus.

The symposium launches a broader, long-term research partnership between scientists in Israel and Charleston in the pursuit of scientific breakthroughs in stem cell research. Some of the innovations the universities will collaborate on include:
--Create new skin, muscle and organs to replace failing ones;
--Restore a regular heartbeat, without a mechanical pacemaker;
--Replace tissues damaged during a heart attack; and
--Repair a weakened artery, thereby preventing a ruptured aneurysm.

By collaborating, American and Israeli scientists enhance the possibility for bilateral National Institutes of Health funding and accelerate development of patentable, therapeutic techniques that can be taken to market.

Under the terms of the partnership, two-way information sharing will take place through visiting professorships, working sabbaticals, joint grant applications, shared educational programs, joint research projects and annual symposia where findings can be shared and further explored.

Charleston Mayor Joe Riley proclaimed Nov. 17 -18 as "MUSC-Technion-Rambam Collaboration Days" in the City of Charleston, urging all residents to join in recognizing the potential this joint research effort brings to the area.