The latest research, reported by a team from Columbia University Medical Center (CUMC), could have significant potential for modeling lung disease, screening drugs, studying human lung development, and generating lung tissue for transplantation.

“Researchers have had relative success in turning human stem cells into heart cells, pancreatic beta cells, intestinal cells, liver cells, and nerve cells, raising all sorts of possibilities for regenerative medicine,” stated study leader Hans-Willem Snoeck, MD, PhD, professor of medicine in microbiology and immunology. “Now, we are finally able to make lung and airway cells.