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CIRM Grants: Key Dates – Feb. to June, 2007

CIRM Grants: Key Dates (Updated 04/23/07)

Last August, following Governor Schwarzenegger’s decision to loan the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) $150 million from the state’s general fund, the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee (ICOC), CIRM’s governing board, authorized a major initiative to jump start human embryonic stem cell research in California. The initiative called for three requests for grant applications: SEED Grants, Comprehensive Research Grants, and Shared Research Laboratories Grants. Detailed information about each is available on our Web site (www.cirm.ca.gov).

More than 300 applications were filed in response to this initiative, and earlier this year, the ICOC approved a total of 103 SEED and Comprehensive Research grants. At its June meeting, the ICOC is slated to consider 22 applications for Shared Research Laboratories Grants with 15 expected to win approval. The review process for the Shared Research Laboratories Grants is outlined below:

Shared Research Laboratories Grants

• February 2, 2007 – Letters of Intent due
• February 23, 2007 – Part I (Scientific application) due
• March 16, 2007 –Part II (Renovation plans application) due
• April 4, 2007 – Grants Working Group review of Part I applications
• May 2 and 3, 2007 – Facilities Working Group review of Part II applications
• June 4 and 5, 2007 – ICOC meeting to review and approve proposals

The Shared Research Laboratory Grants will fund dedicated laboratory space and equipment for the culture of human embryonic stem cells (hESCs), particularly those that fall outside federal guidelines. These grants will support the development of core laboratories to be used by multiple investigators and shared by multiple institutions, and provide an environment for the unrestricted conduct of scientific research on hESCs. Some grants will include additional funds to train scientists and technical staff in the growth and maintenance of hESCs.

The Grants Working Group reviewed the scientific portion of each application (Part I) on April 4th in closed session. Each proposal was assigned each a score that reflected the level of scientific excellence of the proposed project. Based on the scientific scores and other programmatic criteria, the Grants Working Group then developed a list of applications to recommend to the ICOC for funding.

The Facilities Working Group will meet on May 2nd and 3rd, to conduct a technical review of the renovation plans of each Shared research Laboratories Grant application (Part II). This review will be conducted in a public session. In closed session, the Facilities Working Group will then receive the scores and recommendations developed by the Grants Working Group for Part I. Returning to an open meeting, the Facilities Working Group will conduct a programmatic review of all applications and approve a second list of recommendations for the ICOC.

The results of both reviews (including scientific and technical scores) will be posted on the CIRM Web site prior to the ICOC meeting at UCLA, on June 4th and 5th. As the decision-making authority, the ICOC may accept, reject, or modify the recommendations of either working group. When it has reached a final decision on the specific applications to approve for funding, we will issue a press release.

Please contact Dale Carlson at 415/396-9117 if you have questions.