Seminar Series: Keith L. March, M.D., Ph.D.
“Adipose Stem Cells in Vascular Modulation and Tissue Repair: Perivascular Building Blocks and Paracrine Factors”
Keith L. March, MD., Ph.D.
- Professor, Departments of Medicine, Cellular and Integrative Physiology, and Biomedical Engineering, Indiana University School of Medicine and the Krannert Institute of Cardiology
- Director, Indiana Center for Vascular Biology & Medicine (ICVBM)
- Director, IUPUI Vascular and Cardiac Center of Adult Stem Cell Therapy (VC-CAST)
- Director, VA Center for Regenerative Medicine, Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center, Indianapolis
Keith March has dedicated his career to bringing new medical approaches to patients. His publications include more than 140 manuscripts. He was the editor of the first book dedicated to cardiovascular gene transfer. Dr. March’s research has resulted in more than 55 worldwide (20+ U.S.) patents, with others pending. He invented the Closer, a widely-utilized patented suture-mediated closure device, used to close the puncture wound in an artery following heart catheterization. This device allows a patient to "walk off the table" after a catheterization without requiring prolonged bedrest. Abbott Vascular, an affiliate of Abbott Laboratories, acquired the company that developed this technology in 1999 and the Closer approach is used annually worldwide in approximately 500,000 patients. He has served as a scientific advisor to numerous pharmaceutical, biotechnology and medical device companies. Most recently, he co-founded NeuroFx, Inc., based on a seminal patented platform of technology originating in his laboratory that establishes the therapeutic factors secreted by stem cells as powerful therapeutics for critical medical needs, including degenerative and ischemic diseases of the nervous system.
His laboratory focuses on vascular biology, with a particular emphasis on the function and translational study of CD34+ stem cells found in the adipose (fat) tissue, which his laboratory identified as peri-vascular cells with critical roles in vasculogenesis, angiogenesis, and adipose tissue regulation. Dr. March is recognized as a leading expert in the field of adult stem cell research, particularly that involving adipose-derived stromal stem cells. From 2008-2012, he was Chair of the National Institutes of Health Data and Safety Monitoring Board that oversees cell therapy trials in the areas of heart, lung, and blood diseases. In 2012, the VC-CAST was selected as one of the seven Cardiovascular Cell Therapy Research Network (CCTRN) centers in the USA which will work together to conduct NIH-sponsored cell therapy clinical trials during a seven year period.
In addition to his research roles, Dr. March has served as the President (2007) of the International Federation of Adipose Therapeutics and Science (IFATS), and continues to serve on the IFATS Board; and as the Chief Medical Advisor for the Cell Therapy Foundation. In both affiliations, he has worked to advance collaboration as well as public awareness about the significance of adult stem cells.