The first funds from California’s stem cell agency have been distributed, with UCSD receiving the third largest amount among all institutions that were given money.
A postdoctoral student in Lawrence Goldstein’s lab conducts stem cell research. The campus has just received its first funding, $1.2 million, from the state’s stem cell agency.
The campus received $1.2 million for training programs under the direction of Lawrence Goldstein, a professor of cellular and molecular medicine at UCSD School of Medicine and the author of Proposition 71, which created the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The program will enroll 16 scientists — six doctoral students, four postdoctoral fellows and six clinical fellows — at several graduate programs at UCSD.
“Our goal is to train a cadre of young scientists and clinicians who can apply their background to basic stem cell research, potentially leading to the development of new approaches to understanding and treating human diseases,” Goldstein stated in a press release.
In total, 16 nonprofit institutions received $12.1 million in grants from the CIRM to train stem cell researchers and develop the scientific field.
Funding for the grants came from the sale of $14 million in “bond anticipation notes” to six California philanthropic entities, which will be repaid if the agency wins lawsuits challenging the state’s $3 billion stem cell research program.
Two of the organizations are headed by John Moores and Irwin Jacobs, who have long been supporters of UCSD research.
Robert Klein, chairman of the Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee, expressed optimism about nearing his goal of $50 million for the bonds.
“These awards are especially important because they are the first investment in stem cell research for this agency,” said Arlene Chiu, the agency’s director of scientific programs. “We are starting from the ground up.”
