Regenerative Medicine has the potential to revolutionize medical practice, with cell therapy emerging as a powerful treatment option for a variety of insidious diseases. UC Santa Barbara is well positioned to make unique and significant contributions in stem cell research. With extraordinary enabling technologies in biomaterials, systems biology, nanotechnology, micro-processing, and bioengineering, all of which are synergistic with fundamental biomedical research efforts. Our approaches are uniquely distinct from those at California medical schools, with our emphasis on basic biological questions and engineering challenges related to stem cell research.

The mission of the Center for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering at UC Santa Barbara is to foster an interdisciplinary program of stem cell research and teaching to develop new technologies in the field of regenerative medicine.

To accomplish these goals the Center is home to research efforts in three areas: Molecular Mechanisms of stem cell pluripotency, proliferation, and differentiation; Biotechnology and Bioengineering of stem cell fate, sorting and delivery; and Regenerative Medicine to translate discoveries to the clinic. The Center supports training programs for students in stem cell biology and ethics and is heavily involved in outreach to the general public. The Laboratory for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering is a core facility for stem cell research that is made available to both non-profit and for-profit groups at UCSB and beyond.