Stem Cell Research Facility Nets $27M
The university was one of 12 California institutions considered for the institute’s major facilities grants, which will provide $271 million to build stem cell research facilities throughout the state. The facility will be named the Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC.
“We are honored to be selected for funding as a CIRM institute,” said Martin Pera, director of the center. “The funding will provide a tremendous boost for USC’s stem cell initiative.”
The $26.9 million will go toward the construction of a five-story building that would allow USC to carry out stem cell research in three categories: basic and discovery stem cell research, preclinical research and preclinical development and clinical research. The facility will include 53,000 assignable square feet.
“The new center at USC will be an important addition to our campus as we create new research space for discoveries that will eventually translate to patient care,” said Carmen Puliafito, dean of the Keck School of Medicine of USC.
The USC proposal received formal approval by the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, the 29-member governing board for the institute. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine evaluated the technical aspects of an applicant’s building program and how the scientific program aligns with its objective.
“These facilities will house basic and clinical researchers working collaboratively, with stem-cell-specific core labs literally ‘down the hall’ – an arrangement that is critical to our ability to accelerate the pace of research toward clinical application,” said Alan Trounson, president of the institute. “Because of this, we believe these facilities will be an instrumental part of advancing one of our primary objectives of helping to speed the delivery of stem-cell based therapies and cures into the clinic and to patients.”
The funding will supplement a $30 million gift made in 2006 by the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation toward a stem cell facility.
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine was established when voters passed Proposition 71 in 2004 to borrow and spend $3 billion over 10 years to support stem cell research. To date, USC has received nearly $51 million in stem cell grants from the institute.
USC is also a part of the Southern California Stem Cell Scientific Collaboration, an agreement between six research institutions in Southern California allowing members to share training programs, scientific core facilities and expertise, and to team up on a wide range of research programs.
For more information on USC’s stem cell program, visit http://stemcell.usc.edu.
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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.
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