Tekst / Words: Katarina Sretenović Fotografije / Photography: Istock University, opened the doors of her laboratory to us, where great scientific discoveries emerge. That’s what makes this a completely different story about New York’s oldest university K olumbija je najstariji nju- Gordana Vunjak Novaković, profesorka na Univerzitetu Kolumbija, odškrinula nam je vrata svoje laboratorije u kojoj nastaju velika naučna otkrića. Zato je ovo sasvim drugačija priča o najstarijem njujorškom univerzitetu Gordana Vunjak Novaković, a professor at Columbia jorški univerzitet, obuhva- ta 20 fakulteta, upravlja Pulicerovom nagradom i među bivšim studentima ima sto jednog dobitnika Nobelove nagra- de… Ali malo ko zna kako je to radi- ti na Kolumbiji danas. Ovo je baš priča o tome jer je njen akter Gordana Vunjak Nova- ković, profesorka i direktorka Labo- ratorije za matične ćelije i inženjer- stvo tkiva Univerziteta Kolumbija. Ona je i prva žena na ovom čuvenom Ivy League univerzitetu i prva Srp- kinja koja je postala članica Nacio- nalne akademije inženjerstva SAD. Laboratorija čuvenog univerzi- teta nalazi se na Vandebilt klinici, 622 West 168 th Street. Svakoga da- na Gordana zajedno sa kolegama i studentima tu potpisuje velika nauč- na otkrića. U specijalnim posudama bioreaktorima gaje humana tkiva i organe. Svi zajedno pokušavaju da dođu do leka protiv teških bolesti. – Polazimo od matičnih ćelija, ko- je danas mogu da se izoluju iz ma- log uzorka krvi pacijenta. Tim ćelija- ma obezbeđujemo specifične uslove, slične uslovima tokom normalnog ra- zvoja, da bismo ih podstakli da for- miraju tkivo. Cilj je da se oštećeno tkivo zameni tkivom dobijenim od matičnih ćelija pacijenta – objašnja- va Gordana, Srpkinja koja je pre ne- koliko godina u Americi proglaše- na za jednog od pet lidera u nauci. Oni prave kosti, hrskavicu i krv- ne sudove, ali napreduju i s kompli-
C olumbia is New York’s oldest uni- versity. It encompasses 20 colleg- es, manages the Pulitzer Prize and includes among its alumni 101 No- bel Prize laureates... However, few people know what it’s like to work at Columbia today. This is a story precisely about that, as it is the story of Gordana Vunjak Novaković, professor, Deputy Head of the Department for Biomedical Engineering and Director of the Laboratory for Stem Cells and Tissue En- gineering at Columbia University, and she is a Serb. She is also the first woman to be- come a member of America’s National Acad- emy of Engineering. Every day Gordana goes to the famous address 510 Mudd, MC 4714 500 West 120th Street, enters her own office, then goes to the laboratory where, together with her col- leagues and students, she signs off on great scientific discoveries. In a large space, they use a million test tubes and petri dishes to grow human tissue and organs. Together they try to find cures for serious diseases. – We start from stem cells, which can now be isolated from a small sample of the patient’s blood. For these cells we ensure spe- cific conditions, conditions similar to those provided during normal development, in order for us to encourage them to form tis- sue. The aim is to replace damaged tissue with tissue obtained from the patient’s stem cells – explains Gordana, a Serbian lady who was declared one of the five leaders in sci- ence in America a few years ago. They create bone, cartilage and blood vessels, but they are also making progress with more complicated organs, such as lungs and muscles. During the last three years she has established three start-up companies: “epiBone” (bone regeneration), “Tara” (test-
Colombia has a unique spirit of cooperation and collegiality, which has been and remains the biggest driver of scientific progress, says Gordana koji je bio i ostao najveći pokretač napretka nauke, kaže Gordana Kolumbija ima jedinstven duh saradnje i kolegijalnosti,
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