Until November of 2008, the State of Michigan had some of the most restrictive laws in the country governing stem cell research. Dr. Eva Feldman of the University of Michigan went to California on a grant from philanthropist/benefactor Alfred Taubman to do her stem cell research toward treatment of Lou Gehrig's disease. Then Michigan voters passed Proposal 2, allowing researchers to use human embryonic stem cell lines derived from surplus fertility clinic embryos. After a year debating the ethical and legal angles of this new stem cell opportunity, UM came out with guidelines to direct and permit its researchers to move forward using cells from surplus blastocysts. Dr. Feldman returned to UM, where she is Professor of Neurology and currently conducting the first human trial of a stem cell treatment for Lou Gehrig's disease. [Photo of Dr. Feldman courtesy of Michigan Research Corridor]
Tags: University of Michigan, Midwest, Stem cell research, Michigan, Ann Arbor
The stem cell research programs University of Washington have received $24.6 million in new stem cell research funding from the National Institutes of Health (FY 2010 and 2011 to date). UW ranks 6th in the nation for total stem cell funding in this period behind several leading research universities including Stanford, University of Pennsylvania, and UC San Francisco (to read more on UCSF stem cell research see our UCSF blog).
Tags: Washington, University of Washington, Stem cell research, Seattle
The UC Davis Department of Biomedical Engineering was founded in 2001 with three faculty members. It now has a faculty of 27 (with 5 more planned) and ranks impressively in the latest NSF Report on R&D Expenditures by major institutions. According to Dept. Chair Athanasiou, UCD BME ranks:
Tags: University of California Davis, Stem cell research, California, Sacramento, Davis, Southwest Region
Radical building for a radical science.
Tags: University of California San Francisco, Stem cell research, California, San Francisco, Southwest Region, Parnassus
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) was established in 2004 when Californians passed Prop 71, a statewide ballot measure allocating $3Billion to advance and support stem cell research at California universities and research institutions.
Tags: University of California Los Angeles, Stem cell research, California, Los Angeles, Southwest Region