Treasurer Lockyer Names Dr. Floyd Bloom to Independent Citizens Oversight Committee for Stem Cell Research Institute: Researcher Brings More Than 40 Years of Practice, Discovery and Leadership to Job

SACRAMENTO – State Treasurer Bill Lockyer today announced his appointment of Dr. Floyd Bloom to the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee (ICOC) for the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), which operates the state’s stem cell research program.

  “Dr. Bloom has dedicated his life to biological science research and is responsible for numerous breakthroughs in neuroscience understanding,” said Lockyer. “He has built an impressive resume of achievements and honors, and ranks as one of the most respected people in his field. Dr. Bloom is an excellent addition to the oversight committee, and I know he will be committed to helping the CIRM find treatments and cures for life altering diseases.”

  “I am very pleased to be a part of this important bio-medical research undertaking and look forward to seeing our California vision realized,” said Bloom.

  Bloom brings more than 40 years of medical practice and research to the ICOC. Since 1983, he has been a professor at Scripps Research Institute, where he served as chairman of the Department of Neuropharmacology from 1989 to 2000 and again from 2002 to 2005. Scripps is one of the world’s largest, private non-profit biomedical research organizations. He also co-founded Neurome, a La Jolla-based biotechnology company dedicated to the discovery and development of solutions for human neurodegenerative diseases.

From 1995 to 2000, Bloom served as Editor-in-Chief of Science, the premeir journal of scientific thought and discovery. His prior positions included director of behavioral neurobiology at the Salk Institute, chief of the neuropharmacology laboratory at the National Institute of Mental Health and president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. Bloom has published more than 600 works, including the seminal, The Biochemical Basis of Neuropharmacology.

The 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 vital research opportunities.

The 29-member ICOC acts as the CIRM’s governing board. Lockyer, as State Treasurer, is responsible for five appointments to the ICOC. The ICOC’s members include representatives from California’s leading public universities, non-profit academic and research institutions, patient advocacy groups and the biotechnology industry.

Bloom, 70, received his undergraduate degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas in 1956 and his M.D. from Washington University in St. Louis in 1960.

 

 Contact:  Tom Dresslar
                   916-653-2995