Six San Diego scientists will receive almost $15 million in funding from the state stem cell institute to support projects ranging from the development of a therapy to halt acute leukemias to research into therapies to prevent premature birth and birth defects.
The grants, awarded yesterday, are part of a $59 million round of funding distributed to 23 scientists by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, or CIRM.
These so-called New Faculty Grants aim to support promising scientists in the early stages of their careers, when federal funding from the National Institutes of Health is particularly difficult to secure. It is the second round of grants the institute has awarded to new faculty, which includes researchers new to the field of stem cells.
The institute's board is expected to vote on funding to additional new faculty at its September meeting.
The grants will be paid out over five years, covering salary and research expenses, and range from $1.7 million to more than $3 million.
“These grants demonstrate CIRM's strong commitment to the dynamic and innovative careers of these young faculty members,” said Larry Goldstein, director of University of California San Diego's stem cell program.
Because of the fierce competition for limited federal funding for scientific research, it is estimated that scientists generally are in their early 40s before they receive their first major grant from the National Institutes of Health.
“Who would dedicate their life to a field where they could not have a chance to prove the value of their ideas until they were 43?” said Robert Klein, chairman of the state stem cell institute. “Without California's funding, the gap in federal funding would eliminate an entire generation of new clinicians and scientists.”
Five grants were awarded to UCSD researchers and one to a scientist from San Diego State University.
The recipients were:
Catriona Jamieson, an assistant professor of medicine and director of Stem Cell Research at Moores UCSD Cancer Center, who will receive $3.07 million.
Jamieson will use the funding for research into myeloproliferative disorders, or MPDs, which cause people to make too many blood cells because of a mutation in their stem cells. Such a therapy is being tested in clinical trials around the country. It is based on research by Jamieson, the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute, the Mayo Clinic and TargeGen, a San Diego biotechnology company.
Mana Parast, an assistant professor in the UCSD School of Medicine's Department of Pathology, who will receive $3.08 million.
Parast's research looks at generating trophoblast stem cells, the primary cell type that carries out major functions of the placenta, such as establishing blood supply from mother to fetus. Abnormal development and function of the placenta can lead to premature birth.
Benjamin Yu, an assistant professor in the Division of Dermatology in the UCSD School of Medicine, who will receive $3.06 million.
Yu's research focuses on adult stem cells that for unknown reasons lie dormant. His research aims to identify the mechanisms that control the proliferation and fate of adult stem cells. He has helped develop an approach to manipulate the proliferation of adult stem cells in the hair follicle using cell-permeable proteins.
Shyni Varghese, an assistant professor in the Department of Bioengineering in the UCSD Jacobs School of Engineering, who will receive $2.3 million.
Varghese will explore embryonic stem cell-based transplantation therapy for treating muscle wasting, focusing on the most common form of the disorder, called Duchenne muscular dystrophy.
Bing Ren, an associate member of the Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research and associate professor in the UCSD's Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, will receive $1.73 million.
Ren will study transcription factors that are essential for embryonic stem cells to maintain their identity or differentiate along specific lineages. Results from the study will improve the understanding of the mechanisms that control pluripotency – the cells' ability to differentiate into different cell types.
Ricardo Zayas, an assistant professor of biology at San Diego State University, who will receive $1.7 million.
Zaya will use planarians, or freshwater flatworms that have the ability to regenerate when cut into small pieces, to analyze the function of genes implicated in regeneration. Zaya will focus on neurogenesis, or the creation of nerve cells from stem cells.
Terri Somers: (619) 293-2028; terri.somers@uniontrib.com
