Stem cell research expands at UC Irvine
Monday, March 5, 2007
By CATHY TRAN
The Orange County Register
A major expansion is beginning at UC Irvine in the study of human embryonic stem cells, which have the potential to become any of the more than 200 cells in the body and offer hope of a repair kit for people suffering from injuries and disease.
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which operates the state's publicly funded stem cell program, has awarded six UCI scientists $3.5 million to examine such things as whether certain drugs slow the growth of the cells or how mutations may cause such cells to go bad.
The institute was created in 2004 after voters passed Proposition 71 to fund human embryonic stem cell research through the sale of $3 billion in bonds. Litigation froze distribution of the funds for more than two years but a $150 million state loan launched this first wave of funding.
The $3.5 million is part of the $45 million that the institute gave in its first grants to investigators at 20 institutions to expand a field that is comparatively new and, so far, is not close to providing verifiable medical benefits.
"The value of these grants is tremendous," said Hans Keirstead, co-director of the UCI Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center. "I'm most excited by the fact that the projects span basic discovery through applications to disease. We're in a very unique position for getting from bench to bedside."
The California Court of Appeal in San Francisco ruled last week that the proposition "suffers from no constitutional or other legal infirmity," a decision that is expected to free up more money. "It really ensures us that we're on the right track," Keirstead said. The university is now raising money to establish a new stem cell research center.
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