Treasurer Lockyer Appoints San Jose Cardiologist Robert A. Quint to Governing Board of Stem Cell Research Institute

SACRAMENTO – State Treasurer Bill Lockyer today announced his appointment of San Jose cardiologist Dr. Robert A. Quint to the governing board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the entity that operates the state’s stem cell research program.

Lockyer appointed Quint to replace Janet Wright as the heart disease patient advocate on CIRM’s 29-member governing body, called the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee (ICOC). Wright moved to Washington D.C. to take a job at the American College of Cardiology.

“Dr. Quint will be a great addition to the board,” said Lockyer. “He brings four decades of expertise, experience and innovation that will help ensure our stem cell research efforts serve the needs of heart disease patients. He will be a strong, effective advocate.”

“Many years have passed since I began my studies of the sciences and medicine, and over that time I have witnessed enormous progress in our understanding and ability to treat numerous disease processes,” said Quint. “This has been especially true in my specialty of cardiovascular disease. Yet, stem cell research and development, still in its infancy, gives us very real hope for a quantum leap in our conquest of disease and restoration of health. I look forward to participating in this powerful endeavor.”

Quint, 72, has operated his own cardiology practice in San Jose since 1980. From 1971 to 1980, he was a partner at the Western Heart Association in San Jose. Prior to coming to California, Quint practiced from 1968 through 1971 in the Department of Cardiology Vascular Services at the Cleveland Clinic Foundation in Cleveland, Ohio. He has helped develop pioneering diagnostic and treatment techniques for arteriosclerotic heart disease, including coronary angiography and angioplasty.

CIRM manages the stem cell research program established by Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative. The measure created a $3 billion, 10-year bond financing program for stem cell research. The CIRM makes grants and provides loans for stem cell research, research facilities and other related programs.

As State Treasurer, Lockyer issues the stem cell bonds, and is responsible for five appointments to the ICOC. The ICOC’s members include representatives from California’s leading public universities, nonprofit academic and research institutions, patient advocacy groups and the biotechnology industry.

Contact: Tom Dresslar
                  916-653-2995