UCSB receives $3.2 million stem cell grant ...( (Santa Barbara Calif.) The Univers...)

(Santa Barbara, Calif.) The University of California, Santa Barbara will receive $3.2 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) in support of the development of a state-of-the-art facility in the newly established Center for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering at UCSB, according to an announcement by CIRM today. The renovation project has a total budget of $6.3 million. A website about the center is located at:http://www.stemcell.ucsb.edu/.

Research in the new center addresses challenging problems in stem cell biology related to the molecular mechanisms of pluripotency (the ability of the stem cell to become any other type of cell in the body), self renewal and differentiation, using both human embryonic stem cells, induced pluripotent stem cells, and stem cells in simpler organisms. Bioengineering research in the center will investigate novel methods for stem cell growth, differentiation, sorting and delivery, via interdisciplinary application of novel technologies in biomaterials, nanosystems, micro-processing and systems biology.

The long-term goal of the center is the development of stem cell-based therapeutics for a range of human diseases.

The CIRM Special Project will provide crucial funding that will greatly stimulate growth of stem cell research on the UCSB campus, said Dennis Clegg, chair of the Department of Cellular, Molecular and Developmental Biology (MCDB). It will facilitate new, interdisciplinary research projects that would otherwise be impossible due to federal restrictions and lack of suitable space.

The UC Santa Barbara project will encompass renovation of 10,337 square feet in the building called Biological Sciences 2, a seven story building in the biology corridor of campus.

With this CIRM grant, we will build a state-of-the-art laboratory facility as the centerpiece of the new Center for Stem Cell Biology and E
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