$6.4M for Stem Cell Labs to USC, CHLA
Photo/Jon Weiner
These grants will fund dedicated laboratory space and equipment for multiple researchers and institutions to share for unrestricted stem cell research. USC’s grant also includes funding to develop an educational course in current protocols in stem cell research.
CIRM’s advisory panel strongly recommended funding for USC’s laboratory space.
"We are very pleased that our USC faculty at the Keck School and at Childrens Hospital fared well in securing these most recent grants from CIRM," said Brian Henderson, dean of the Keck School of Medicine.
"The grants complement our hard work in developing strong programs and recruiting an outstanding team of scientists. The funding will help develop more vitally important facilities that are needed for stem cell investigation and the eventual translation of new discoveries to patient care."
Childrens Hospital Los Angeles received $2.8 million to build a 3,000-square-foot centralized laboratory area that will be housed at the hospital’s Smith Research Tower. The area will include four tissue culture rooms with positive pressure air handling, four shared equipment rooms, storage space and an office space.
Approximately $3.6 million will go to USC’s Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine (CSCRM). The 1,500-square-foot research laboratory will be housed on the USC Health Sciences campus in the new Harlyne J. Norris Cancer Research Tower. The laboratory space will include seven tissue culture workstations, each with its own biosafety cabinets, incubators, microscopes and ancillary equipment.
“The grants will enable USC to provide researchers with comprehensive support through training, research materials and space for pilot and collaborative research,” said Martin Pera, director of USC’s CSCRM and professor of cell and neurobiology at the Keck School of Medicine.
“We are excited to be recognized for our dedication in advancing stem cell research. We hope the facilities will encourage researchers, especially those new to stem cell research, to undertake pilot projects and generate preliminary data,” he continued.
News of the Shared Research Laboratory Grants comes as USC continues planning for the new Broad Institute building on the USC Health Sciences campus, which will eventually house the stem cell research center.
CIRM was established when voters passed Proposition 71 in 2004 to borrow and spend $3 billion over 10 years to support stem cell research. Including these two awards, USC and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles have received more than $17.9 million in stem cell grants from CIRM.
Earlier this year, USC and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles researchers received approximately $5.9 million from CIRM to fund scientists new to stem cell research and to support ongoing studies by scientists with a record of accomplishment in the field.
In the spring of 2006, USC, along with its partner institutions Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and Caltech, received a three-year, $5.6 million stem cell training grant from CIRM to train graduate students as well as post-doctoral and clinical fellows across 27 departments at USC. That three-year grant has established an innovative training program in stem cell biology and ethics that includes mentored laboratory research, an annual retreat and courses jointly administered and co-taught by faculty of the Keck School, Childrens Hospital Los Angeles and Caltech.
Latest stories
- MSW@USC Student to Compete in 2012 Paralympics February 10, 2012 9:22 AM
- Judy Woodruff: Public Broadcasting Has Changed for the Good February 10, 2012 8:49 AM
- USC Price School Celebrates Naming Gift February 9, 2012 2:45 PM
-
For Journalists »
-
USC in the News
for 2/8/2012 »-
The Chronicle of Higher Education mentioned USC’s $6 billion fundraising campaign. The story noted that USC had already raised $1 billion in a “quiet phase,” including the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College.
The Guardian (U.K.) highlighted two major gifts to USC in a list of the 10 biggest philanthropic benefactors in America. The list included the $200 million naming gift from USC Trustee and alumnus David Dornsife and wife Dana Dornsife to the USC Dornsife College, and the $110 million gift from USC Trustee and USC Viterbi School alumnus John Mork and wife Julie to create the USC Mork Family Scholars Program.
The New York Times featured the USC U.S.-China Institute documentary “Assignment: China — The Week that Changed the World.” The documentary, part of a series, examines media coverage of the 1972 Nixon trip that reshaped U.S.-China relations after a quarter century of isolation and hostility. “People look back now and take it for granted that the outcome was preordained,” said the institute’s Mike Chinoy, who produced the documentary. Voice of America also featured the story.
Los Angeles Times featured the Oscar Senti-meter, a tool developed by the USC Annenberg School, Los Angeles Times and IBM that analyzes thousands of tweets about the Academy Awards nominees. The story noted that Mexican actor Demian Bechir received an enormous boost on Twitter the day of the nominations, with a total of 6,893 tweets mentioning him, a 47-fold increase from the day before. The story noted the tool uses language-recognition technology developed in collaboration with USC Viterbi School’s Signal Analysis and Interpretation Lab.
The Times of India (India) featured a three-day medical emergency training workshop organized in association with USC. At the workshop, held at GCS Medical College in India, 50 doctors and more than 100 paramedics learned how to improve emergency support systems. William Mallon of the Keck School of USC said that discussion topics included the use of portable ultrasonic devices to scan patients. “The ultrasound applications help physicians make accurate and timely decisions,” he noted. Daily News & Analysis (India) also featured the workshop.
-
-
Campus News
- Capital Connections
- USC faculty, staff and alumni in Washington, D.C., and Sacramento
- In Print
- New and recent books written or edited by USC faculty and staff
- Family Matters
- Achievements and awards
- Obituaries