About Our Board
CIRM’s board—also known as the Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee (ICOC)—is composed of up to 35 California-based patient advocates, nurses, research leaders, and biotechnology industry leaders. Visit our calendar of events to see upcoming board meetings.
Meet Our Board Members
Vito
Imbasciani, PhD, MD
Maria
Gonzalez Bonneville
Eyad
Almasri, MD
Kim
Barrett, PhD
Dan
Bernal
George
Blumenthal, PhD
Linda
Boxer, MD, PhD
John
M. Carethers, MD
Judy
Chou
Le Ondra
Clark Harvey, PhD
Deborah
Deas, M.D., MPH
Anne-Marie
Duliege, MD
Ysabel
Duron
Mark
Fischer Colbrie, MBA
Elena
Flowers, PhD, RN
Judith
C. Gasson, PhD
David
Higgins, PhD
Rich
Lajara
Pat
Levitt, PhD
Hala
Madanat, PhD, MS
Linda
Malkas, PhD
Shlomo
Melmed, MD
Carolyn
Meltzer, MD
Christine
Miaskowski, RN, PhD, FAAN
Yael
Wyte, MSW
Adriana
Padilla, MD
Joe
Panetta
Marvin
Southard, DSW
Michae
J. Stamos, MD
Karol
E. Watson, MD, PhD, FACC
Kevin
Xu
Keith
R. Yamamoto, PhD
Meet Our Alternate Members
Monica
Carson, PhD
Harold
Collard, MD, MS
Jeffrey
Golden, MD
Joyce
Sackey, MD, FACP
Suzanne
Sandmeyer, PhD
Donald
Taylor, PhD, MBA, CLP
Who Makes Up Our Board?
Patient advocates who keep the agency’s focus where it belongs: on the people who need treatments for chronic disease and injury. They represent a wide range of diseases including diabetes, cancer, neurodegenerative diseases, HIV/AIDS, mental health and spinal cord injury.
Nurses who provide expertise in clinical trial management or stem cell or genetic therapy delivery to inform the agency on patient care standards, quality assurance procedures and care systems
Biotechnology industry leaders who ensure that our policies and funding draw on California’s biotechnology expertise. With these board members guiding agency decisions we have confidence that the industry will be poised to work with CIRM to accelerate the process of getting these new therapies to the patients who need them.
Research leaders from nationally ranked medical schools and research institutes with track records of moving basic research to the clinic who provides the agency with scientific expertise needed to direct the agency’s funding initiatives.
How Board Members are Appointed
The University of California Chancellors at San Francisco, Davis, Los Angeles, San Diego, Irvine and Riverside can each appoint a single executive officer from their respective campus. In addition, the Chancellor at San Francisco can appoint a faculty member, physician/scientist, researcher, or executive officer from the Fresno/Clovis campus.
The Governor can appoint an executive from a California University, an executive from a nonprofit research institution, an executive from a California life sciences company, a patient advocate for spinal cord injury, a patient advocate for Alzheimer’s disease, and a patient advocate for mental health conditions.
The Lieutenant Governor can appoint an executive from a California University, an executive from a nonprofit research institution, an executive from a California life sciences company, a patient advocate for type 2 diabetes, a patient advocate for either multiple sclerosis or ALS, and a patient advocate for mental health conditions.
The Treasurer can appoint an executive from a California University, an executive from a nonprofit research institution, an executive from a California life sciences company, a patient advocate for type 1 diabetes, and a patient advocate for heart disease.
The Controller can appoint an executive from a California University, an executive from a nonprofit research institution, an executive from a California life sciences company, a patient advocate for cancer, and a patient advocate for Parkinson’s disease.
The Speaker of the Assembly can appoint a patient advocate for mental health disease or mental health conditions.
The President pro Tempore can appoint a patient advocate for HIV/AIDS.
The Governor, Lieutenant Governor, Treasurer and Controller can each nominate one person for the position of Chair and Vice-chair. The appointed members of the governing board vote from among those nominees to select those two positions.
Forms & Board Regulations
