Stem Cell Institute Welcomes Dr. David Brenner To Board

SAN FRANCISCO, March 9, 2007  – The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) today welcomed David Brenner, M.D., to its governing board, the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee.

  Dr. Brenner is Vice Chancellor, Health Sciences and Dean of the University of California, San Diego School of Medicine. As Vice Chancellor he oversees the research, educational and clinical programs of the medical school, Skaggs School of Pharmacy and Pharmaceutical Sciences, UCSD Medical Center, and UCSD Medical Group. He is a leader in the field of gastroenterological research, specializing in diseases of the liver. He is widely known and respected as a translational scientist whose work bridges the laboratory and the clinical setting.

  Dr. Brenner was appointed to the ICOC by University of California, San Diego Chancellor Marye Anne Fox, to fill the vacancy created by the resignation of Edward W. Holmes, M.D., in October 2006.

  “We are delighted that Dr. Brenner is joining the board,” said Robert N. Klein, chair of the ICOC. “He is a distinguished addition to the ICOC. He will provide important insights into the potential for stem cell research that can help guide our research and clinical path towards new understanding of chronic disease and new therapies.”

  Dr. Brenner said he is looking forward to working on the California stem cell project. “Bob Klein and the ICOC, along with CIRM’s staff, have done a remarkable job keeping this important effort moving along for the past two years. With grant funding finally flowing to scientists, I’m confident California will soon see significant progress in stem cell research.”

After earning his M.D. from the Yale University School of Medicine and completing his residency at Yale-New Haven Medical Center, Brenner was a research associate in the Genetics and Biochemistry Branch of the National Institute of Arthritis, Diabetes, Digestive and Kidney Diseases of the National Institutes of Health. He first came to UC San Diego in 1985 on a fellowship in gastroenterology, later joining the faculty of UC San Diego School of Medicine, and serving as a physician at the Veterans Affairs San Diego Healthcare System. He became a Pew Scholar in the Biomedical Sciences and a Clinical Investigator in the VA system. He left UC San Diego in 1992 to become Professor and Chief of the Division of Digestive Diseases and Nutrition at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, where he continued to earn accolades for his patient care and research contributions. He was recruited to chair the Department of Medicine at Columbia in 2003.

About CIRM
Governed by the ICOC, CIRM was established in 2004 with the passage of Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative. The statewide ballot measure, which provided $3 billion in funding for stem cell research at California universities and research institutions, was approved by California voters, and called for the establishment of an entity to make grants and provide loans for stem cell research, research facilities, and other vital research opportunities. For more information, please visit www.cirm.ca.gov.

Contact: Dale A. Carlson
                415/396-9117