A SRMT Trainee Perspective
September 2009
“Regenerative medicine, with its novel tools can propose robust solutions for patients.” – May TahaMay Taha, MSc Candidate
University of Calgary
May Taha joined the SRMT in January 2009 as a MSc Candidate in the program of Medical Science under the super vision of Dr. Jeff Dunn. Originally from Egypt, May obtained a Bachelor degree in Dental Medicine and Surgery with honors at Alexandria University. After obtaining her degree in July 2004, she spent time training at the Alexandria and Cairo Universities. May attended several conferences where she has improved her dental skills and techniques and obtained insight into application based research. In 2005, she began practicing dentistry at a military hospital in Egypt. It was not until she began practicing dentistry that she became intrigued and interested in the field of regenerative medicine. Many of her dental patients had lost or injured their body parts because of various reasons. Not only did this have an adverse affect on their dental health, but it also impacted their quality of life. May and her family recently moved to Canada so that she could explore regenerative medicine solutions for her patients.
Currently, May’s Master’s thesis involves investigating MR tracking of labelled cells related to degeneration and repair in living systems. May has begun using a mouse model of musculoskeletal injury where she labels embryonic stem cells with optical and MRI visible contrast agents and tracks them in vivo with high resolution MRI, CT, and optical imaging. May is currently funded by the SRMT and is hoping to learn MR imaging, MR microscopy, MR image reconstruction, histological preparation, histological staining and immunohistochemistry within the areas of stem cell biology and cartilage and bone pathophysiology. May is excited to be part of a dynamic, collaborative research team and hopes that one day, through her research efforts with the SRMT, that she will be able to successfully regenerate musculoskeletal functional tissue.
