NEW YORK (GenomeWeb News) – The California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) plans to use $40 million to fund projects that will combine stem cell research with genomics research resources.
CIRM said on Tuesday that its governing board has approved the funding to create one or two Stem Cell Genomics Centers of Excellence at universities in California. The new centers will serve as genomics resources for state scientists who may not otherwise have access to such technologies.
"Access to genomics tools will give California researchers unprecedented opportunities for better understanding the cells they are working with and advancing those cells toward therapies for patients," CIRM President Alan Trounson said in a statement. "We expect these centers will lead California into the next generation of cell biology and medical applications, leveraging the incredible advances evolving from advances in human genomics."
CIRM was created in 2004 with the passage of the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative. The state ballot measure provided $3 billion in funding for stem cell research and regenerative medicine at California universities and research institutions and established CIRM to provide grants and loans for stem cell research and other facilities.