Stem Cell Agency Prepping for Next Round of Grants
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine could request applications for construction grants for new research facilities as early as next month, the San Francisco Business Times reports.
CIRM was established under Proposition 71, a 2004 ballot initiative, to administer $3 billion in state funds for stem cell research.
Lori Hoffman, acting president of the agency, said as many as 20 institutions could apply for grants.
Possible applicants include:
- The Buck Institute for Age Research, Novato;
- J. David Gladstone Institutes, San Francisco;
- Stanford University;
- UC-Berkeley;
- UC-Davis; and
- UC-San Francisco.
Each grant could range from $5 million to $40 million; awards could be announced as early as February 2008.
Decision Criteria
To be eligible for facilities grants, institutions must match at least 20% of the award amount. Other criteria include:
- Functionality;
- Shared resources;
- Urgency; and
- Value.
CIRM's facilities working group is considering a two-part review process for grant applications, with one step focusing on the scientific promise of an application and the other stressing more functional aspects of the proposal.
Hoffman said such a process could delay awards until May 2008 (Leuty, San Francisco Business Times, 7/23). This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.