The Niche

Here are a couple grant opportunities to spend some time in another institution’s lab studying stem cells.

CIRM’s “bridges” award works only for folks in California. It funds internships for undergraduates and Master’s level students at for-profit companies and academic institutions. Funds totaling $18 million will be awarded to 10 California institutions, where they will cover a program director, ten interns a year, and other activities. Letters of intent are due on July 31. It’s available to accredited academic institutions that didn’t get CIRM’s shared laboratory grants. More details are available at CIRM.
(BTW: There’s also $48 million coming in funds for CIRM trainee grants, which are geared for more specialized young scientists for one to three years. It’s similar to the NIH program; letters of intent are due at the end of July.)

Another award will foster collaborations between the United Kingdom and the U.S. It pays up to 5000 pounds ($10,000 dollars) for travel and expenses. The funding is primarily available for group leaders and principal investigators, but “exceptional” postdocs will be considered. (All awardees have to fly economy class) Funds are being offered through the British consulate in San Francisco, but scientists based in anywhere in the US or the UK can apply. (I looked for and didn’t find eligibility requirements based on citizenship. Let me know if I missed something.) You need to apply by September 14th for notification on October 14th, and your travel needs to be concluded by February.

Posted by Monya Baker on July 09, 2008
Categories: Funding and Resources | Permalink | Comments (0) | TrackBacks (0)

The California scientists most likely to receive state grants for making new cell lines were those who proposed comparing embryonic stem cell lines and induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines. Overall, thirty-two percent of all grant applications (16 of 50) were funded. Four of the five grants that proposed comparisons got funds. The unfunded grant application crossed into less favored categories, as it also proposed making lines from parthenotes and through nuclear transfer. None of the grant applications that sought to make cell lines using human oocytes were funded. Two proposed cloning through nuclear transfer, one proposed stimulating unfertilized eggs to divide into parthenotes, and one application proposed using both methods.

Success rates for grants proposing the derivation of only ES or only iPS cells were each 33%, but there were twice as many grants for iPS cells. That’s astounding considering that the grant program was announced in October 2007, a month before the first publications that human cells could be successfully reprogrammed.

Four proposals to make pluripotent lines using cells derived from the placenta, testes, or amniotic fluid were rejected. But a proposal to make spermatagonial stem cells, ES cells, and iPS cells was funded and highly praised, with reviewers particularly keen to see a comparison of iPS and spermatagonial stem cells from the same individual.

Continue reading "What got funded: statistics on California’s new stem cell line grants" »

Posted by Monya Baker on July 02, 2008
Categories: Ethics, Funding and Resources, Policy | Permalink | Comments (2) | TrackBacks (0)

New York put together a draft plan for how to spent $600 million over 11 years to foster stem-cell research and is seeking input through June 20. You can read the plan and leave comments at the link above.

Below, I'll provide the budget breakdown for the plans for New York and the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine.

Continue reading "New York’s strategic plan for stem cells seeks comments" »

Posted by Monya Baker on June 01, 2008
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