Min Zhao, dermatology professor and cell migration expert, has been awarded a three-year, $1 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

The award to Zhao was part of a $16 million infusion from the state’s stem cell agency this week to support research that will lead to advances in understanding the basic mechanisms underlying stem cell biology and cellular differentiation.

The funding supports Zhao’s research developing scientific techniques using electric fields to direct the migration of human stem cells for the repair of wounds and regeneration of damaged tissues. Currently, physicians use electric fields for deep brain stimulation to control seizures and for pain management. They represent a novel approach in the effort to turn stem cells into cures.

“Studying the migration of stem cells toward electrical gradients is very cutting edge and will have important implications in wound repair,” said Jan Nolta, director of the stem cell program at UC Davis and a co-investigator on the grant with Zhao.

One of the barriers to stem cell therapies is that researchers cannot precisely target or consistently integrate transplanted stem cells with the damaged tissues of an injury site. Studies have shown that electric fields can guide the migration and division of certain types of stem cells.

Zhao and his colleagues think the same electric fields could produce an effective signal for directing neural stem cells and the progeny of human embryonic stem cells, as well as for ensuring that the cells successfully interact and fully connect with sites of tissue damage.

The next step is to better understand the electrical controls required to guide stem cells to a specific location in the body. If successful, the new techniques will help overcome one of the biggest road blocks in stem cell therapies.

Charles Casey is a senior public information representative for the UC Davis Health System.