$1.5M Goes to Stem Cell Research
The state's stem cell agency awarded a total of $24 million in New Cell Lines Awards and Disease Team Planning Grants.
The first program funds research for the development of new lines of pluripotent human stem cells, while the other funds the planning stages of an innovative model for research teams that will collaborate on therapies for a specific disease or injury.
The grants received formal approval from the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, the 29-member governing board for the institute.
Martin Pera, director of the Eli and Edythe Broad CIRM Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC, received a $1.3 million New Cell Line Awards grant that will fund the development of new technologies to derive human pluripotent stem cell lines - cells that can develop into any tissue in the body - for clinical use.
“These new awards represent important steps toward taking stem cell research into the clinic,” said Pera, professor of cell and neurobiology at the Keck School of Medicine. “The grant to our team will enable us to make pluripotent stem cell lines that are safe for patient use from embryos or adult cells.”
Three other Keck School and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles faculty members received disease team planning grants:
• Mark Humayun, professor of ophthalmology, biomedical engineering and cell and neurobiology at USC, received $50,001 toward developing a stem cell-based treatment strategy for age-related macular degeneration, the leading cause of vision loss and blindness among the elderly.
• David T. Woodley, professor and chairman of dermatology at the Keck School, received a $42,574 grant to study regenerative wound healing of the skin. The investigative team will include members from the academic departments of pathology, dermatology, surgery and cell and neurobiology.
• Donald B. Kohn, director of the Gene, Immune and Stem Cell Therapy Program at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, and professor of pediatrics, molecular microbiology and immunology at the Keck School, received $33,110 toward establishing a multidisciplinary team to develop a stem cell-based gene therapy approach to sickle cell disease.
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 faculty members have secured more than $50 million in funding.
USC is also part of the Southern California Stem Cell Scientific Collaboration, an agreement among six research institutions 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 programs, visit http://stemcell.usc.edu
Latest stories
- 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
- George Will Shares His Perspective on Politics February 9, 2012 1:10 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