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Connecticut
Stem Cell Activities Accelerate
From
the desk of Paul Pescatello, President and CEO of CURE
 Stem cells are in the news again, and Connecticut continues to be
on the cutting edge of progress in this important research.
To begin with, the state's Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee has directed the allocation of $9.84 million in stem cell research funds to scientists based in Storrs, Farmington, and New Haven. This is the
third $10 million tranche in the $100 million allocated to stem cell research by Connecticut's far-sighted legislation three years ago.
Nine UConn faculty members, representing disciplines including neuroscience, immunology, genetics, and molecular medicine, have been awarded $3.3 million in state funding for human embryonic stem cell research. Twelve Yale University stem cell research proposals received $5.66 million in funding. All told, the state received 87 proposals from scientists who were seeking more than $40 million under the highly competitive review process.
In its first round of funding in November 2006, the committee directed $19.78 million to 21 stem cell projects at Yale, UCONN, and Wesleyan University.
The awards come at a time when stem cell research is opening new vistas in bioscience research. Harnessing stem cells to regenerate and repair damaged tissues remains a compelling if distant goal. But, as Dr. Haifan Lin, director of Yale's Stem Cell Center recently pointed out at a CURE/Yale BioHaven seminar, stem cell research may have a more immediate impact
on the areas of cancer therapy and compound screening,
For example, researchers led by Dr. Gil Mor of Yale have recently identified, characterized and cloned ovarian cancer stem cells and have shown that these stem cells may be the source of ovarian cancer's recurrence and its resistance to chemotherapy. Identification of these cells is an important step in the development of new therapies.
Furthermore, the study of stem cells has opened new inquiries into the nature of the stem cell niche - the microenvironment in which stem cells are found and which appears to give them their marching orders.
Clearly stem cell research is growing in importance, with implications for economic development as well as human health. With that in mind, I'm pleased to report that I've accepted a seat on the Connecticut Stem Cell Advisory Committee, the body created and appointed to direct the awarding of grants-in-aid for stem cell research in accordance with Connecticut statute.
I look forward to serving with my able and energetic colleagues, and to helping keep Connecticut in the vanguard of this important frontier of bioscience.
Paul R. Pescatello is President and CEO of CURE.
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