The progress made and problems faced in taking stem cells from the lab to the clinic is the focus of a new thematic series on clinical applications of stem cells, published by Stem Cell Research & Therapy. The series launches with three review articles; Nicholas Boulis reviews stem cell therapy for the spinal cord, Anish Majumdar and colleagues discuss the use of mesenchymal stem cells for cartilage repair in osteoarthritis and Aastrom’s experience in developing an autologous multicelluar therapy for critical limb ischemia is documented by Bartel et al.

In his introductory editorial the Series Editor, Mahendra Rao (NIH, USA), encourages readers to contribute to the discussion by commenting on the published articles and submitting their own research for publication alongside the commissioned review content. Upcoming articles include reviews on glia as a target for neurological
disease therapy and international harmonization efforts in cell therapy
regulation. Bookmark the series page and check back regularly as content will be continually updated, or why not sign up for article alerts and get new content delivered directly to your inbox?

Launched in 2010, Stem Cell Research & Therapy was the first journal to focus on translational research into stem cell therapies. The journal received its first partial Impact Factor of 3.21 last month, a testament to the quality of articles the journal has published and the efforts of the Editors-in-Chief, Rocky Tuan and Timothy O’Brien, and its international Editorial Board. All research articles published in the journal are open access. Submissions should be made online and authors should clearly state in the covering letter if they are intended for a particular series – any inquiries should be directed to editorial@stemcellres.com.