Shu Chien, M.D., Ph.D., Professor of Bioengineering, will receive $638,140.  Chien and his colleagues have developed an array system (with thousands of combinations) that allows the rapid determination of the optimum physical and chemical conditions that direct the differentiation of stem cells into specific cell types.  

Catriona Jamieson, M.D., Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine, will receive $642,500 for her work with cancer stem cells derived from human embryonic stem cells. Compelling studies suggest that human cancer stem cells arise from aberrantly self-renewing, tissue-specific stem or progenitor cells, and this research harbors tremendous potential for developing life-saving therapy for patients with cancer by providing a platform to rapidly and rationally test new therapies. 

Cornelis Murre, Ph.D., Professor of Biology, will receive a $538,211 grant to generate long-term multi-potential human hematopoietic progenitor cell lines from human embryonic stem cell cells. If successful, the strategy would create cells that could be used to readily generate specific hematopoietic cell types, such as lymphocytes or dendritic cells, on a large scale for cell-based therapeutic approaches. 

Bing Ren, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, will receive $691,489 to provide a foundation for analysis of the mechanisms that control the production of stem cell proteins, which in turn would help in the design of new ways to manipulate the stem cells so they can differentiate toward specified cell types.   

Binhai Zheng, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Medicine, will receive $642,361 to apply genetically modified human embryonic stem cells to study basic functions of human genes in spinal cord development and to develop therapeutic intervention for spinal cord injury. 

Others from UCSD are:  Anirvan Ghosh, Ph.D., Professor of Biology; and Sylvia Evans, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology. “I am delighted to see that CIRM recognizes the promise of the work proposed by my excellent colleagues,” said Larry Goldstein, Ph.D., Director of UCSD's Stem Cell Program.  “This is a wonderful endorsement of the outstanding quality of the stem cell research at UCSD, and the future prospects for our work to benefit the people of California.”

ICOC selected 72 projects for funding, for a total of $45 million over two years. Of this, $4.3 will support the projects of UCSD researchers.