UCI awarded $27.2 million for new stem cel...(from around the world said Hans Keirstea...)

UCIs stem cell scientists are pioneers in regeneration, in large-scale production of specialized cells with very high purity, and in methods for using such cells to treat damaged tissues.

The first clinical trial in the United States of a human embryonic stem cell-based therapy likely will be based on work performed in Keirsteads lab at UCI. The therapy will treat people with spinal cord injuries, and the trial will be run by Geron Corp.

UCI plans to recruit six faculty members to expand its stem cell research and regenerative medicine programs. Along with other campus resources and support, this commitment is worth approximately $17.5 million over the next 10 years.

I am delighted with the progress our stem cell center directors have made in recruiting and planning for an expanded research program, said Susan Bryant, vice chancellor for research at UCI and a member of the ICOC. Our stem cell program is training young UCI scientists, as well as visiting researchers. We have enormous enthusiasm and excitement about the future of stem cell research at UCI.

In all, the new building will cost approximately $61 million. CIRM funding will be supplemented with private donations and campus debt funding.

Stem cell research promises to transform the treatment of disease and to give us longer, healthier lives, said Edward Thorp, a donor to UCIs stem cell program. Thorp is a founding faculty member at UCI and a pioneer in the field of quantitative finance.

We expect donor support will allow continuing breakthroughs by UCIs stellar research team, Thorp said.

Said Tom Yuen, chairman and chief executive officer of PrimeCell Therapeutics LLC and SRS Labs, and a UCI stem cell program donor: In the next decade, stem cell research will improve our quality of life and expand the frontiers of medicine. At UCI, world-class stem c
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