State Allocates Nearly $20 Million For Stem Cell Research

HARTFORD — The State of Connecticut Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee recently directed the allocation of $19.78 million in stem cell research funds to researchers from Yale, Wesleyan, and the University of Connecticut.

This is the first installment of grants from the Stem Cell Research Fund, established by the Connecticut General Assembly and signed into law by Governor M. Jodi Rell in 2005. Between now and 2015, the committee is tasked with allocating approximately $100 million to encourage stem cell research in Connecticut.

“With this first allotment of money, Connecticut becomes a national leader in the area of stem cell research,” said Governor Rell. “We have proven ourselves able to provide a place where such research can be done safely, ethically, and effectively in addition to providing investment dollars for the growth of the bioscience industry in Connecticut, and making an investment intended to improve the health of generations to come.”

Seventy applications were received in response to the committee’s Request for Proposals issued on May 10, 2006. A five-member Connecticut Stem Cell Peer Review Committee previously reviewed these applications in accordance with National Institutes of Health guidelines and provided to the larger committee its recommendations with respect to the scientific merits of each application.

All applications reviewed were deemed to meet acceptable ethical standards.

“After careful consideration and review by both an international panel of experts and by this committee, we are confident that Connecticut is investing in stem cell research projects that will yield significant scientific findings in the long-term,” said Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee Chairman and Department of Public Health Commissioner J. Robert Galvin, MD, MPH.

             Grant Recipients

The following grants have been allocated from the Connecticut Stem Cell Research Fund:

éAn Integrated Approach to Neural Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells, Yale University, Michael P. Snyder, principal investigator, $3,815,476.72

éDirecting hES Derived Progenitor Cells into Musculoskeletal Lineages, University of Connecticut Health Center and University of Connecticut, David W. Rowe, MD, principal investigator, $3,520,000

éHuman Embryonic Stem Cell Core Facility at Yale Stem Cell Center, Yale University, Haifan Lin, principal investigator, $2.5 million

éHuman ES Cell Core At University of Connecticut and Wesleyan University, University of Connecticut Health Center, Ren-He Xu, principal investigator, $2.5 million

éDsRNA and Epigenetic Regulation in Embryonic Stem Cells, University of Connecticut Health Center, Gordon G. Carmichael, $880,000.

éAlternative Splicing in Human Embryonic Stem Cells, University of Connecticut Health Center, Brenton R. Graveley, principal investigator, $880,000

éSMAD4-based ChIP-chip Analysis to Screen Target Genes of BMP and TGF Signaling in Human ES Cells, University of Connecticut Health Center, Ren-He Xu, principal investigator, $880,000

éDirecting Production and Functional Integration of Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Neural Stem Cells, Wesleyan University, Laura B. Grabel, principal investigator, $878,348.24

éRole of the Leukemia Gene MKL in Developmental Hematopoiesis Using hES Cells, Yale University, Diane Krause, principal investigator, $856,653.72

éMigration and Integration of Embryonic Stem Cell Derived Neurons into Cerebral Cortex, University of Connecticut, Joseph LoTurco, principal investigator, $561,651.84

éOptimizing Axonal Regeneration Using a Polymer Implant Containing hESC-derived Glia, University of Connecticut, Akiko Nishiyama, $529,871.76

éDevelopment of Efficient Methods for Reproducible and Inducible Transgene Expression in Human Embryonic Stem Cells, University of Connecticut Health Center, James Li, principal investigator, $200,000

éPragmatic Assessment of Epigenetic Drift in Human ES Cell Lines, University of Connecticut, Theodore Rasmussen, PhD, principal investigator, $200,000

éCell Cycle and Nuclear Reprogramming by Somatic Cell Fusion, University of Connecticut Health Center, Winfried Krueger, principal investigator, $200,000

éFunction of the Fragile X Mental Retardation Protein in Early Human Neural Development, Yale University, Yingqun Joan Huang, principal investigator, $200,000

éQuantitative Analysis of Molecular Transport and Population Kinetics of Stem Cell Cultivation in a Microfluidic System, University of Connecticut, Tai-His Fan, principal investigator, $200,000

éEmbryonic Stem Cell as a Universal Cancer Vaccine, University of Connecticut Health Center, Bei Liu, Zihai Li, MD, principal investigators, $200,000

éLineage Mapping of Early Human Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation, University of Connecticut, Craig E. Nelson, $200,000

éDirected Isolation of Neuronal Stem Cells from hESC Lines, Yale University School of Medicine, Eleni A. Markakis, principal investigator, $184,407

éMagnetic Resonance Imaging of Directed Endogenous Neural Progenitor Cell Migration, Yale University School of Medicine, Erik Shapiro, principal investigator, $199,975

éGeneration of Insulin Producing Cells from Human Embryonic Stem Cells, University of Connecticut, Gang Xu, principal investigator, $200,000