Stem Cell Oversight Committee Awards First Research Grants; Hall Named Permanent CIRM President
The Independent Citizens' Oversight Committee on Friday in Sacramento awarded 16 medical school and research institutions in California with a total of $38.9 million in grants to be given out over the next three years, the Sacramento Bee reports (Lau, Sacramento Bee, 9/10).
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine does not currently have funding for the grants, but the state treasurer's office is attempting to sell $200 million in high-risk bond anticipation notes. The state cannot begin selling $300 million in annual bonds provided under Proposition 71, the measure that created CIRM, until lawsuits challenging the constitutionality of the arrangement are settled.
The state plans to sell bond anticipation notes to investors willing to risk that CIRM will win legal challenges to the institute's funding. If the lawsuits are resolved in the state's favor, the state then could repay investors with the bonds provided under Proposition 71 (California Healthline, 9/8). According to the Bee, the grants will be issued "in the form of an 'IOU'" because of the ongoing litigation (Sacramento Bee, 9/10).
The grant money will go toward training scientists in stem cell biology, using those cells in medicine, as well as issues of law and ethics (Perlman, San Francisco Chronicle, 9/10).
The institutions awarded the grants were:
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Burnham Institute;
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California Institute of Technology;
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Childrens Hospital Los Angeles;
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J. David Gladstone Institutes;
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Salk Institute for Biological Studies;
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Scripps Research Institute;
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Stanford University;
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University of California-Berkeley;
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UC-Davis;
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UC-Irvine;
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UC-Los Angeles;
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UC-San Diego;
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UC-San Francisco;
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UC-Santa Barbara;
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UC-Santa Cruz; and
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University of Southern California.
The grants are intended to fund the work of 169 researchers (Sacramento Bee, 9/10).
The grants would be "relatively small," but the competition among the 26 institutions that applied was "stiff" because those selected believe they will be at the "front of the line for more lucrative public financing to come," the Los Angeles Times reports (Raksin, Los Angeles Times, 9/10).
ICOC Chair Robert Klein said he hoped to secure $12.5 million, which would fund the first year of the grants, by October. Klein did not identify any organizations planning to buy bond anticipation notes but said a variety of organizations are interested.
Klein said he expected opponents of stem cell research to attempt to block the sale of the notes. "It's going to be a challenge, but we're moving ahead," he said (Ainsworth, San Diego Union-Tribune, 9/10).
Jesse Reynolds, program director of the Center for Genetics and Society, said, "It's irresponsible for anyone to promise something you're not sure you can deliver" (Los Angeles Times, 9/10).
Dana Cody -- a lawyer with Life Legal Defense Foundation, which is in charge of a lawsuit against ICOC -- said, "I don't understand how they can award grants if they don't have money" (AP/Long Island Newsday, 9/9).
In related news, ICOC on Friday hired Zach Hall as permanent president of CIRM. Hall had served as interim president of the institute.
Klein said CIRM had considered more than 100 applicants nationwide before deciding on Hall.
Hall will be paid $389,000 annually as president of CIRM (Sacramento Bee, 9/10).
In addition, the Sacramento Bee on Monday profiled ICOC member Sherry Lansing and her health care-related work for organizations, such as Stop Cancer and the American Red Cross, as well as the University of California (Mecoy, Sacramento Bee, 9/12).
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