A New Era in San Diego Stem Cell Research
Head of State Stem Cell Institute Comes to Campus in Wake
of $43 million Grant to Build Stem Cell Research Facility on Torrey Pines Mesa
Ioana Patringenaru | May 12, 2008
Alan Trounson, a well-known stem cell researcher, joked that the first time he came to San Diego, he knew the city had a zoo, but didn’t know it had a university. Much has changed since then. Trounson now heads California’s agency dedicated to stem cell research, while UC San Diego has become one of the major players in that field.
Alan Trounson, the president of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine spoke Thursday at UCSD.
Thursday, Trounson came to UCSD just one day after the governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) granted $43 million to the San Diego Consortium for Regenerative Medicine to build a center dedicated to stem cell research on the Torrey Pines Mesa. CIRM includes UC San Diego, the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and The Scripps Research Institute.
Trounson spoke here as part of a lecture series sponsored by the departments of pathology, pediatrics and reproductive medicine at the School of Medicine. Dr. Ken Jones, a professor of pediatrics who invited Trounson to campus, joked that to his knowledge the grant wasn’t timed to coincide with the scientist’s visit. He went on to thank Trounson anyway.
After his talk, which included a broad overview of stem cell research, Trounson praised UCSD for forging an alliance with other institutions. The partnership will allow scientists to work off one another, Trounson predicted. They will get more support and more feedback, he added. “I think a consortium could well be the best model,” he said.
San Diego stem cell research center
Trounson spoke about stem cells research and his agency's work.
The consortium's planned four-story building, which includes a basement, will house about 71,300 square feet dedicated to stem cell research, including laboratories and office space. In all, 21 research teams from the four participating institutions will work in the new facility, which will be ready by July 2010. UCSD owns the land on which the facility will be built, which is worth close to $15 million, documents show.
The $43 million grant comes from funds set aside for stem cell research by California voters when they passed Proposition 71 in 2004. It was the second highest amount awarded during Wednesday’s round of funding, second only to a $43.6 million grant received by Stanford University. In addition to state funds, the San Diego consortium is set to pitch in another $72.2 million for the facility, bringing its total cost to $115.2 million. The project also includes about $40 million in faculty recruitment and other costs.
“UC is grateful for all the support CIRM has given to our scientists in this important field,” University of California President Robert Dynes said in a statement. The system as a whole has received a total of about $180 million in Prop. 71 funds. “The grants will allow UC to build the next generation of research infrastructure that will help continue our efforts to realize the enormous potential of stem cell technology.”
Other stem cell research funds
The audience at the UCSD School of Medicine listening.
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine has doled out funds to build 12 new stem cell research institutions and programs statewide, from the San Francisco Bay Area, to Los Angeles and San Diego, Trounson said. The facilities will allow more than 800 principal investigators, including about 100 in San Diego, to work on stem cell research.
“You’re going to have a huge impact,” Trounson said.
CIRM also is awarding funds for new faculty, new stem cell lines and teams focusing on specific diseases. The end goal is to take research from the academic realm to biotech companies and eventually to clinical trials. Trounson added he has 10 years to deliver results.
“We’ve got to show that we can affect the lives of the people of California,” he said.
Trounson’s research
Trounson, a pioneer of human in vitro fertilization and associated reproductive technologies, joined the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine in January 2008 after a long tenure at Monash University in Australia.
He has been a leading researcher in the diagnosis of inherited genetic disease in pre-implantation embryos. He also did significant work on the discovery and production of human embryonic stem cells and their ability to be directed into neurons, prostate tissue and respiratory tissue.
His talk at UCSD was sponsored by the departments of pediatrics, pathology and reproductive medicine as part of the Kurt Benirschke Lecture series.
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