The Lundquist Institute receives $5 million CIRM grant for a stem-cell focused program

The Lundquist Institute (TLI) announced that it has received a generous $5 million, 5-year grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) that will allow its PhD students, postdoctoral fellows and clinical fellows to pursue careers in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. This award will also support the creation of a stem-cell focused program that will enable the Institute to recruit and train researchers in stem cell research while emphasizing its translational significance, underlying ethical considerations and keep the community updated on the technological advances in the field. The grant will also make it possible to retain stem cell researchers by providing access to the new and emerging companies based on The Lundquist campus.

"This is monumental and places the Institute among the ranks of leading research centers for innovative stem cell research" said David Meyer, PhD, President and CEO of the Lundquist Institute. "I want to thank the CIRM as well as all those here at TLI who collaborated to submit our successful application. Without a doubt, this grant means that the Institute can now recruit, train and retain the best researchers in regenerative medicine while expanding and enhancing our already groundbreaking work in translational research."

"We are thrilled to have received this distinguished award from CIRM," said Jody Spillane, Administrative Director of the Program and Senior Vice President for Public Affairs. "We are very proud that our program has a very diverse graduate student cohort, 50% of whom are first-generation college students. As the Institute continues to push forward with its diversity, equity and inclusion initiatives, this grant will help support our students in their careers and as they pursue interests in the field of stem cell research. Coupled with our already in place community outreach programs that are focused on translational research including stem cell research and regenerative medicine, this award will add to the Institute's growing impact as a research powerhouse."

A unique focus of stem cell training at TLI will be on applications to stem cell approaches to developmental programming, which is critical in the pathogenesis of many pediatric and adult-onset conditions, including but not limited to asthma, adult-onset diabetes, obesity, coronary heart disease, hypertension, chronic lung disease, and many malignancies. TLI's approach is that developmental programming is pivotal in the pathogenesis of a host of pediatric and adult-onset conditions that are especially responsive to reprogramming of stem cells even after the onset of these conditions.

"The CIRM grant is a testament to the hard work of our investigators, the program administration and to the success of our graduate program in Translational Medicine," said Ashraf Ibrahim, PhD, Director of the TLI Graduate Studies Program. "Today, with this grant, we have taken a major leap in achieving our goals in graduating the next superstars of scientists/entrepreneurs in translational medicine."