Scientists get funding to investigate how stem cells function

By Kim Irwin

Owen Witte, professor of microbiology, immunology and molecular genetics, directs UCLA's stem cell research center.

The Proposition 71 bond measure that California voters approved more than two years ago to fund human embryonic stem cell research is finally making its first pay-off: UCLA scientists will receive more than $4 million over two years.

Of 72 seed grants totaling $45 million and awarded Feb. 16 by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state organization overseeing Prop. 71 funding, seven grants went to researchers affiliated with the UCLA Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine.

CIRM, which had to delay distribution of funding because of litigation, received 231 applications for seed grants totaling $138.3 million from scientists at 36 nonprofit institutions across the state.

"This is a testament to the leading-edge research being proposed by UCLA stem cell scientists, who rank among the very best in their field," said Owen Witte, director of UCLA's stem cell research center. "UCLA's highly collaborative atmosphere allowed our scientists to develop innovative interdisciplinary research projects that bring expertise from all areas of the campus to bear on this important scientific endeavor."

Among the UCLA principal investigators and co-principal investigators receiving the grants are Irvin Chen; Zoran Galic; Siavash Kurdistani and Hanna Mikkola; Michael Teitell and Utpal Banerjee; Hanna Mikkola, Owen Witte and Ken Dorshkind; William Lowry; and Nori Kasahara.

"We feel fortunate to have been selected to receive one of seven seed grants awarded to UCLA," said Teitell, an associate professor of pediatrics and pathology and laboratory medicine. "This support will help us determine how stem cells manage their energy resources during self-renewal and differentiation, and may also provide important insight for selecting the highest quality stem cells for future therapeutic development."

Seed grants are intended to bring new ideas and new investigators into human embryonic stem cell research, CIRM officials said, and offer opportunities for investigators to conduct studies that may yield preliminary data or proof-of-principle results that could then be expanded to full-scale investigations.

The grants were reviewed by a committee of scientific experts from outside California and a committee of patient advocates.

The Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine was launched in 2005 with a UCLA commitment of $20 million over five years.

Learn more about UCLA's stem cell research.