Expert: Alireza Khosrovani (M.Sc.)

This laboratory was established to provide cell-related services to students and researchers, covering an area of approximately 80 square meters. Currently, five major research groups with over 40 students and researchers are actively working in this lab.

Among the groups benefiting from the services of Differentiation Lab 1 are the Heart, Neuroscience, Liver, microRNA, and Tissue Engineering research groups.

Stem cells obtained from the Royan Institute Cell Bank are transferred to this laboratory, where specialized researchers from each group differentiate them into various cell lineages. These include the production of neuronal cells, retinal pigment epithelial cells, beating cardiomyocytes, endothelial cells, hepatocytes, insulin-secreting cells, and the isolation of pancreatic islets (islets of Langerhans). Notably, some of these cells are mass-produced for transplantation into animal models and eventual clinical applications. The most prominent among them are neural progenitor cells, beating cardiac cells, and hepatocytes.

In the tissue engineering group, the designed scaffolds are transferred to Differentiation Lab 1, where cellular tests—including toxicity, migration, and maturation assays—are performed on these scaffolds.