SEED Grant

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The goal of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) is to develop stem cell and related research for the diagnosis, prevention and treatment of disease and injury. Toward that end, CIRM plans to fund a broad and varied program of stem cell research and training, and is currently developing a scientific strategic plan to guide this program. An unexpected development, however, has made funds immediately available that can be used to fund stem cell research before the strategic plan is completed. These funds will be focused on the greatest immediate need, which is research on human embryonic stem cells (hESCs). At a later time, CIRM will offer opportunities for funding across a broader range of projects. 

The first CIRM research grant initiative, Innovation in Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research, is intended to “jump-start” hESC research in California. It will be carried out through three Requests for Applications (RFAs), two for individual investigator projects and one for institutional shared laboratory space: 

RFA 06-01: CIRM SEED Grants 

RFA 06-02: CIRM Comprehensive Grants

RFA 06-03: CIRM Shared Research Laboratory Grants and Stem Cell Techniques Course 

The CIRM SEED Grant RFA is the first of these three. 

OBJECTIVE OF THE CIRM SEED GRANT PROGRAM – RFA 06-01 

The SEED (Scientific Excellence through Exploration and Development) Grant Program is intended to bring new ideas and new investigators into the field of human embryonic stem cell (hESC) research and will offer an opportunity for investigators to carry out studies that may yield preliminary data or proof -of -principle results that could then be extended to full scale investigations. The goals of the program are (1) to fund preliminary research in the biology, derivation, and application of hESCs and their derivatives, (2) to fund ground-breaking, exploratory new concepts and approaches in the field, and (3) to attract new investigators – young investigators as well as established scientists in other fields – to direct their focus to hESC research. 

This RFA is open to all academic and non-profit research institutions in the state of California. Future solicitations may be available to for-profit institutions when the CIRM Intellectual Property Policy for for-profit organizations is in place. Scientists with a record of accomplishment in hESC research or closely- related stem cell fields who have extensive preliminary data may choose to apply for a CIRM Comprehensive Research Grant (RFA 06-02) to conduct or expand promising on-going research using hESCs. Investigators may apply for either a SEED grant or a Comprehensive Research grant, but not both. CIRM will accept only one application per Principal Investigator (PI) for one or the other RFA. 

KEY FEATURES OF THE CIRM SEED GRANT PROGRAM 

This solicitation is limited to proposals that work directly on hESCs and that can utilize existing space and major equipment at the applicant institution. Funding will be provided for Project costs and other related costs as described in the CIRM Grants Administration Policy. Project costs of up to $200,000 per year for up to 2 years may be requested. The allowable Indirect Costs for this RFA are limited to 25% as described in the CIRM Grants Administration Policy (GAP). 

Principal Investigators (PIs) may be either senior or junior faculty and must be full- time employees of the grantee organization. A minimum 5% of the PI’s total effort must be devoted to the project. Post-doctoral fellows may not apply directly to this program or serve as the PI. 

This solicitation is not targeted to any specific aspect of hESC research or to a particular disease. Topics for investigation should be chosen solely for their potential to add substantially to the body of knowledge on hESCs, to develop a useful research tool or to develop therapy. Future solicitations may be limited to research on topics to be identified through the Institute’s scientific strategic planning. 

The following are examples of hESC research that are expected to be encompassed within this RFA; applications for other innovative projects will also be considered and are strongly encouraged. 

• Development of new technology and conditions to optimize the derivation, self-renewal, maintenance, stability, and/or cryopreservation of hESCs.

• Derivation of disease-specific hESC lines

• Characterization and comparison of different hESC lines.

• Understanding the regulation of self-renewal and fate decisions

• Targeting lineage-specific differentiation of hESCs

• Assessing the fates of hESCs and their derivatives in animal models of disease

• Assessing the tumorigenicity of hESCs and their derivatives.

• Reprogramming of adult human somatic cell nuclei or the use of other novel techniques to generate hESCs.  

FUNDS AVAILABLE 

CIRM expects to commit up to $24 million over a two year period for this RFA. The Institute anticipates that approximately 30 SEED grants will be awarded for a period of no more than two years each. CIRM reserves the right to discontinue or change funding levels from year to year if significant scientific progress is not demonstrated.

ELIGIBLE COSTS 

All allowable costs for research grants are detailed in the CIRM GAP. 

1. Salaries for key personnel providing services to the grant. This may include the Principal Investigator, research associate, and/or technical support salaries, based on percent of full time effort commensurate with the established salary structure of the applicant institution. Because CIRM considers pre-doctoral, post-doctoral and clinical fellows as trainees and not as employees, institutions may request stipend, health insurance and allowable tuition and fees as costs for trainees. Administrative support salaries are expected to be covered by the Indirect Costs for the grant.  

2. Equipment and Supplies Major equipment necessary to conduct the research proposed must be available at the applicant institution (see definition of equipment in the CIRM GAP). Minor equipment purchases (< $5,000 per item) may be included in the budget. Supplies, including specialized reagents and animal costs may also be purchased with grant funds.  

3. Travel Recipients (PIs) of CIRM SEED Grants are expected to attend an annual CIRM-organized meeting for grantees in California and should include in the budget costs for travel to this meeting. Travel costs associated with collaborations necessary to perform the project activities are allowable. Details of allowable travel costs can be found in the CIRM GAP. 

APPLICATION PROCEDURE 

Letter of Intent 

All institutions and investigators planning to apply for a CIRM SEED Grant must notify CIRM with a letter of intent (LOI) by September 15, 2006. The letter should describe concisely the overall goals and technical approaches of the proposed research. A list of proposed collaborators with their institutional affiliations should be included. In order to facilitate planning for the review of the application, please identify in the LOI the types of expertise needed to evaluate the proposal. Letters of intent are non-binding, but applications will not be accepted if such a letter has not been provided to CIRM by the deadline. Letters of intent must be sent as an email attachment to loi@cirm.ca.gov.

Full Application Instructions 

All applications for CIRM SEED Grants must be received by October 13, 2006. Only applicants who have sent in an LOI will be allowed to submit an application. Applicants must use the CIRM SEED Grant Application Form which will be available on the CIRM website by September 15, 2006. 

The application for SEED Grants includes:

• Abstract (up to 3000 characters): State the goals of the proposal; summarize the overall plans of the research proposed and how it will meet the stated objectives of the proposal. Describe the rationale for these studies and techniques you will use to pursue these goals. Explain the likelihood of this proposal being funded by the federal government.  

• Public Abstract (up to 3000 characters): Briefly describe in lay language the proposed research and how it will, directly or indirectly, contribute to the development of diagnostics, tools or therapies. This Public Abstract will become public information; therefore, do not include proprietary or confidential information or information that could identify the applicant (P.I. and home institution).  

• Statement of Benefit to California (up to 3000 characters): Describe in a few sentences how the proposed research will benefit the state of California and its citizens. This Statement of Benefit will become public information; therefore, do not include proprietary or confidential information or information that could identify the applicant (P.I. and home institution).  

• Specific Aims (up to 1 page): Explain the broad, long-term objectives and the goal of the specific research proposed, e.g., to test a stated hypothesis, create a novel design, solve a specific problem, challenge an existing paradigm or practice, develop a new therapy, address a critical barrier to progress in the field, or develop new technology. Identify and enumerate each specific aim of the proposal, in a concise and step-wise fashion, and how that will lead to the broad goal of this research. Explain the likelihood of this proposal being funded by the federal government.  

• Rationale and Significance (1-2 pages): Summarize the context and background of the present application and the specific rationale for the work proposed. Evaluate existing knowledge and specifically identify the gaps that the project is intended to fill. State how the proposed research meets CIRM’s goals of funding innovative, perhaps scientifically risky and untested research. If the aims of the application are achieved, state how this information will contribute to the development of diagnostics and/or therapies based on stem cell research.  

• Research Design and Methods (up to 3 pages): Describe concisely, but in sufficient detail to permit evaluation of the merit of the research, the experimental design, methods and techniques to be employed to achieve the goals specified in the proposal. Identify the new or risky aspects of the research, anticipated pitfalls, and plans to overcome or circumvent difficulties that may arise. Describe the methods of analysis of results, including criteria for success of the preliminary studies.

• Feasibility (up to 2 pages): Provide any information that will help to establish the experience and competence of the investigator to pursue the proposed project. It is not necessary to have preliminary data relevant to the proposed research, since generation of such data is the primary purpose of the CIRM SEED Grant Program.
  

• Collaboration (up to 1 page): If collaboration is integral to the success of the project, describe how this will be achieved.  

• Timeline (1/2 page): Provide a realistic timetable for completing each proposed specific aim of the project; where appropriate provide specific milestones for evaluating the achievement of each specific aim.  

• References (up to 2 pages): List all references used in the body of the proposal.

• Laboratory/Clinical Facilities including major equipment (1/2 page): Provide a short description of the facilities and environment in which the work will be done, and the major equipment and resources available for conducting the proposed research. Discuss ways in which the proposed studies will benefit from unique features of the scientific environment or employ useful collaborative arrangements where applicable.  

• Key Personnel: List the scientific participants and their roles in the proposed research in the relevant section of the application form, regardless of whether they will receive salary support from the grant. These may include the Principal Investigator, co-investigators, research associates, technicians and trainees (students and fellows). For each key scientific personnel listed, provide a 2 page biographical sketch that highlights prior stem cell (especially hESC) research experience and/or special skills related to the proposed research. Include relevant publications.  

• Budget: Provide all budget information requested in the budget section of in the application form.

REVIEW AND AWARD PROCESS 

CIRM SEED grant applications will be reviewed by the Scientific and Medical Research Funding Working Group (SMRFWG) of CIRM. The SMRFWG consists of fifteen basic and clinical scientists from institutions outside California, seven patient advocates who are members of the Independent Citizen’s Oversight Committee (ICOC), and the Chair of the ICOC. The membership of the SMRFWG is available here. The ICOC was established by the California Research and Cures Act (Proposition 71) to oversee CIRM and is responsible for all final funding decisions. The composition of the ICOC is available here.

Fifteen scientists on the SMRFWG will review the applications and rate them according to scientific and technical merit. The following are among the qualities to be considered for evaluation of research grant applications. For SEED grants, particular emphasis will be placed on innovation and quality of the research plan. 

• Impact and Significance Does the research address an important problem? Will the proposed research significantly move the field forward, either scientifically or medically?

• Innovation Is the approach original? Does it bring novel ideas, technologies or strategies to bear on an important problem in hESC research? Does it break new ground?  

• Quality of the Research Plan Is the research carefully planned to give a meaningful result? Are the possible difficulties acknowledged, with alternative plans should the proposed strategy fail? Is the timetable for achieving significant results reasonable?  

• Feasibility Can the aims of the research be reasonably achieved? Do the investigators have the training and experience to conduct the proposed project? Does the investigator have access to appropriate technology to perform the research?  

• Collaboration Does the proposal support collaborative efforts, and if so, to what extent does the collaboration enhance the quality and potential of the research proposed?  

• Responsiveness to the RFA How is the proposal responsive to the criteria and objectives stated in the RFA?  

• Eligibility for Federal funding Is the research ineligible or unlikely to receive federal funding? If not, is the research sufficiently compelling in that it presents “a vital research opportunity” that will materially aid the objectives of CIRM?  

Recommendations for funding will then be made by the full SMRFWG to the ICOC. In making these recommendations, the SMRFWG will review the entire portfolio of applications, taking into consideration the following criteria: 

• Scientific and technical merit.  

• Appropriate balance between innovation and feasibility.  

• Where relevant, the appropriate balance between fundamental research, therapy development and clinical application.  

• Where relevant, the appropriate balance and range of diseases addressed.  

• Other considerations from the perspective of patient advocates. 

SUBMITTING AN APPLICATION 

All SEED Grant applications must be submitted to CIRM by October 13, 2006 . The application form for CIRM SEED Grants will be available on the CIRM website by September 15, 2006. Send a PDF file of the full application to SEED@cirm.ca.gov. In addition to submitting the application electronically, send a signed original of the completed application to CIRM. The hardcopy must be signed by both the PI and the institution’s authorized organizational official. Mail the signed hardcopy to: 

SEED Grant Application 

California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

210 King Street

San Francisco, CA 94107

RECEIPT AND ANTICIPATED REVIEW AND START DATES 

Receipt of letters of intent: September 15, 2006 

Receipt of full application: October 13, 2006

Review of applications: November-December, 2006

Review by ICOC: February, 2007

Announcement of awards: March 2007

Earliest funding of awards: March, 2007

Contact Information 

For review information:

Gilberto Sambrano, Ph.D.

Scientific Review Officer 

California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

210 King Street 

San Francisco, CA 94107

Email: gsambrano@cirm.ca.gov

Phone: (415) 396-9103 

FAX: (415) 396-9141

For programmatic information:

Patricia Olson, Ph.D.

Scientific Program Officer 

California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

210 King Street

San Francisco, CA 94107

Email: polson@cirm.ca. gov

Phone: (415) 396-9116

FAX: (415) 396-9141

For other information:

Arlene Y. Chiu, Ph.D.

Director of Scientific Activities 

California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

210 King Street

San Francisco, CA 94107

Email: achiu@cirm.ca.gov

Phone: (415) 396-9104

FAX: (415) 396-9141

OTHER REQUIREMENTS 

CIRM Grants Administration Policy: 

CIRM’s governing board, the ICOC, adopted an Interim Grants Administration Policy (GAP) for Academic and Non-profit Institutions that describes the standard terms and conditions of grant awards issued by the Institute. All research conducted under this award will be expected to comply with the stated policy. CIRM reserves the right to discontinue or change funding levels from year to year if significant scientific progress has not been demonstrated. 

Human Stem Cell Research Regulations: 

CIRM has adopted medical and ethical standards for human stem cell research. All research conducted under this award will be expected to comply with these standards. While these regulations prohibit donors of gametes, embryos, somatic cells or human tissue from receiving valuable consideration for their donation, they do allow for reimbursement for permissible expenses as determined by an IRB. “Permissible Expenses” means necessary and reasonable costs directly incurred as a result of donation participation in research activities and may include costs such as those associated with travel, housing, child care, medical care, health insurance and actual lost wages. For research activities proposing to obtain gametes, embryos, somatic cell or human tissue from human subjects, CIRM requires the applicant to submit, at the time of application, their reimbursement policy describing how they intend to calculate permissible expenses. 

Intellectual Property Policy for Non-profit Organizations: 

CIRM has adopted policies that govern the intellectual property created under grant awards issued by CIRM to non-profit organizations. Research conducted under this award will be expected to comply with the terms and conditions stated in this policy.

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Awards

Institution	Investigator	Grant Title	Award Value
University of California, Irvine	Dr. Kyoko Yokomori	Derivation and characterization of human ES cells from FSHD embryos	$607,200
University of California, Davis	Dr. Ebenezer N Yamoah	Hair Cells and Spiral Ganglion Neuron Differentiation from Human Embryonic Stem Cells	$458,071
University of California, San Francisco	Dr. Holger F Willenbring	Induction of pluripotency in fibroblasts by fusion with enucleated human embryonic stem cell syncytia	$329,245
University of California, San Francisco	Dr. Thea D. Tlsty PhD	Role of the tumor suppressor gene, p16INK4a, in regulating stem cell phenotypes in embryonic stem cells and human epithelial cells.	$614,784
University of California, Irvine	Dr. Vincent Procaccio	Mitochondrial Dysfunction in Embryonic Stem Cells	$245,397
University of California, Irvine	Dr. Grant R MacGregor	Production of Oocytes from Human ES Cells	$385,466
University of California, Irvine	Thomas Edward Lane	Human Embryonic Stem Cells and Remyelination in a Viral Model of Demyelination	$368,081
Stanford University	Dr. Aaron J Hsueh	Patient-specific cells with nuclear transfer	$629,653
University of California, Los Angeles	Dr. Noriyuki Kasahara	Down-Regulation of Alloreactive Immune Responses to hES Cell-Derived Graft Tissues	$399,239
Stanford University	Dr. Joseph C. Wu	In Vivo Imaging of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Derivatives and Tumorigenicity	$623,634
University of California, San Diego	Dr. Benhai Zheng Dr.	Genetic manipulation of human embryonic stem cells and its application in studying CNS development and repair	$600,441
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute	Dr. Zhuohua Zhang	Modeling Parkinson’s Disease Using Human Embryonic Stem Cells	$701,060
Stanford University	Dr. Kenneth Weinberg	Embryonic stem cell-derived thymic epithelial cells	$628,793
University of Southern California	Dr. Qilong Ying	Self-renewal of human embryonic stem cells	$621,421
University of California, Davis	Professor A. Hari Reddi	hESCs for Articular Cartilage Regeneration	$301,703
University of California, Los Angeles	Dr. Hanna Mikkola	Improving microenvironments to promote hematopoietic stem cell development from human embryonic stem cells	$550,241
University of California, Berkeley	Dr. Ellen A. Robey	In Vitro Differentiation of T cells from Human Embryonic Stem Cells.	$477,894
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute	Dr. Robert G. Oshima	Trophoblast differentiation of human ES cells.	$696,354
Salk Institute for Biological Studies	Prof. Samuel Lawrence Pfaff	Gene regulatory mechanisms that control spinal neuron differentiation from hES cells.	$704,543
University of California, Los Angeles	Dr. William Lowry Dr.	Modeling Human Embryonic Development with Human Embryonic Stem Cells	$528,096
University of California, Irvine	Dr. Frank LaFerla	Development of human ES cell lines as a model system for Alzheimer disease drug discovery	$473,963
University of California, Los Angeles	Dr. Siavash Kurdistani	Cellular epigenetic diversity as a blueprint for defining the identity and functional potential of human embryonic stem cells	$549,698
Stanford University	Dr. Mark Kay Dr.	Novel vectors for gene transfer into human ES cells	$574,737
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute	Professor Ziwei Huang	New Chemokine-Derived Therapeutics Targeting Stem Cell Migration	$708,000
University of Southern California	Dr. David R. Hinton	Therapeutic potential of Retinal Pigment Epithelial cell lines derived from hES cells for retinal degeneration.	$651,607
Stanford University	Dr. Susan K McConnell	Optimization of guidance response in human embryonic stem cell derived midbrain dopaminergic neurons in development and disease	$607,363
Gladstone Institutes, J. David	Dr. Warner C Greene	The APOBEC3 Gene Family as Guardians of Genome Stability in Human Embryonic Stem Cells	$717,363
University of California, Los Angeles	Dr. Zoran Galic	Genetic Enhancement of the Immune Response to Melanoma via hESC-derived T cells	$616,800
University of California, San Diego	Dr. Anirvan Ghosh Dr.	Generation of forebrain neurons from human embryonic stem cells	$587,591
Salk Institute for Biological Studies	Dr. Senyon Choe	A method to maintain and propagate pluripotent human ES cells	$760,042
University of California, San Diego	Shu Chien	Combinatorial Platform for Optimizing Microenvironments to Control hESC Fate	$577,148
University of California, Los Angeles	Dr. Irvin SY Chen	Genetic modification of the human genome to resist HIV-1 infection and/or disease progression	$616,800
University of California, Los Angeles	Dr. Michael A. Teitell	Role of Mitochondria in Self-Renewal Versus Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells	$543,274
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute	Dr. Huei-sheng Vincent Chen	Development of Neuro-Coupled Human Embryonic Stem Cell-Derived Cardiac Pacemaker Cells.	$695,680
University of California, Santa Cruz	Dr. David Andrew Feldheim	Assessing the role of Eph/ephrin signaling in hESC growth and differentiation	$474,161
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute	Dr. Gregg Duester	Retinoic Acid-FGF Antagonism during Motor Neuron Differentiation of Human ES Cells	$695,229
University of California, Irvine	Professor Charles L Limoli	Using human embryonic stem cells to treat radiation-induced stem cell loss: Benefits vs cancer risk	$593,242
Stanford University	Dr. Phillip Chung-Ming Yang	In Vivo Molecular Magnetic Resonance Imaging of Human Embryonic Stem Cells in Murine Model of Myocardial Infarction	$629,952
Gladstone Institutes, J. David	Dr. Fen-Biao N. Gao	MicroRNAs in Human Stem Cell Differentiation and Mental Disorders	$748,800
University of California, San Francisco	Dr. Valerie Marie Weaver	Force, Dimensionality and Stem Cell Fate	$529,762
Stanford University	Dr. Joanna Wysocka PhD	Role of Chromatin Modifiers in Regulating Human Embryonic Stem Cell Pluripotency	$629,952
Stanford University	Dr. Thomas Wandless	Reprogramming Differentiated Human Cells to a Pluripotent State	$380,005
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute	Dr. Alexey V. Terskikh	Analysis of Candidate Neural Crest Cells Derived from Human ES Cells	$703,684
University of Southern California	Dr. Peter W Laird	Screening for Oncogenic Epigenetic Alterations in Human ES Cells	$647,431
Stanford University	Dr. John P. Cooke	EC regeneration in cerebrovascular ischemia: role of NO	$476,995
University of California, Berkeley	Dr. Carolyn R Bertozzi	Profiling surface glycans and glycoprotein expression of human embryonic stem cells	$444,847
The Regents of the University of California on behalf of its Riverside Campus	Dr. Frank Sauer	Non-coding RNA as tool for the active control of stem cell differentiation	$571,650
University of California, San Francisco	Dr. Miguel Ramalho-Santos	Transcriptional Regulation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells	$595,755
City of Hope, Beckman Research Institute	Dr. Timothy R. O’Connor	Sources of Genetic Instability in Human Embryonic Stem Cells.	$327,311
University of California, San Francisco	Dr. Heike E Daldrup-Link	Labeling of human embryonic stem cells with iron oxide nanoparticles and fluorescent dyes for a non-invasive cell depiction with MR imaging and optical imaging	$240,214
University of California, Irvine	Dr. Brian J. Cummings	The Immunological Niche: Effect of immunosuppressant drugs on stem cell proliferation, gene expression, and differentiation in a model of spinal cord injury.	$595,345
Gladstone Institutes, J. David	Dr. Eric Verdin	Role of HDAC in human stem cells pluripotentiality and differentiation	$590,997
University of California, San Francisco	Dr. Didier Y Stainier	Endodermal differentiation of human ES cells	$611,027
Scripps Research Institute	Peter G. Schultz	A Chemical Approach to Stem Cell Biology	$748,944
Stanford University	Dr. Julien Sage	Functions of RB family proteins in human embryonic stem cells	$498,609
Ludwig Institute for Cancer Research	Dr. Bing Ren	Mapping the transcriptional regulatory elements in the genome of hESC	$653,823
The Regents of the University of California on behalf of its Riverside Campus	Professor Michael C Pirrung	Stem Cell Survival and Differentiation Through Chemical Genetics	$522,933
University of Southern California	Dr. Wange Lu	Regulation of human neural progenitor cell proliferation by Ryk-mediated Wnt signaling	$624,000
University of California, San Diego	Dr. Cornelis Murre	Generation of long-term cultures of human hematopoietic multipotent progenitors from embryonic stem cells	$473,952
Children’s Hospital of Los Angeles	Dr. Elizabeth Rachel Lawlor	hESC as tools to investigate the neural crest origin of Ewing’s sarcoma	$595,576
Stanford University	Dr. Calvin Jay Kuo	Differentiation of Human Embryonic Stem Cells to Intestinal Fates	$554,176
Stanford University	Dr. Krishna Shenoy	Technology for hESC-Derived Cardiomyocyte Differentiation and Optimization of Graft-Host Integration in Adult Myocardium	$572,891
University of California, Merced	Dr. Michelle Khine	Micro Platform for Controlled Cardiac Myocyte Differentiation	$193,700
University of California, Irvine	Dr. Michelle Khine	Micro Platform for Controlled Cardiac Myocyte Differentiation	$156,426
University of California, San Diego	Catriona Jamieson	Derivation and Characterization of Cancer Stem Cells from Human ES Cells	$616,305
University of California, San Francisco	Dr. Su Guo	Identifying small molecules that stimulate the differentiation of hESCs into dopamine-producing neurons	$542,619
University of California, San Francisco	Dr. Linda C. Giudice	Human Embryonic Stem Cell Differentiation to Trophoblast: Basic Biology and Clinical Translation to Improve Human Fertility	$614,784
University of California, San Francisco	Dr. Robert Blelloch Dr.	MicroRNA Regulation of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Self-Renewal and Differentiation	$605,886
Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute	Dr. Hudson Freeze	Role of Glycans in Human Embryonic Stem Cell Conversion to Neural Precursor Cells	$708,000
University of California, San Diego	Dr Sylvia Evans	Specification of Ventricular Myocyte and Pacemaker Lineages Utilizing Human Embryonic Stem Cells	$585,600
Salk Institute for Biological Studies	Dr. Beverly M Emerson Dr.	Regulation of Specific Chromosomal Boundary Elements by CTCF Protein Complexes in Human Embryonic Stem Cells	$647,343
University of California, Santa Cruz	Dr. Bin Chen	In vitro differentiation of hESCs into corticospinal motor neurons	$465,624
Human BioMolecular Research Institute	Dr. John R Cashman	Discovering Potent Molecules with Human ESCs to Treat Heart Disease	$688,274
Buck Institute for Age Research	Dr. Dale E. Bredesen	Programmed Cell Death Pathways Activated in Embryonic Stem Cells	$728,950
			Total: $41,436,156.33