CIRM Scholar Training Program
Grant Award Details
Grant Type:
Grant Number:
EDUC4-12782
Investigator(s):
Award Value:
$5,347,815
Status:
Active
Progress Reports
Reporting Period:
Year 1
Reporting Period:
Year 2
Reporting Period:
Year 3
Grant Application Details
Application Title:
CIRM Scholar Training Program
Public Abstract:
This CIRM Scholar Training Program will directly impact in multiple ways the educational opportunities of scientists and physicians in the context of stem cell biology and the application of stem cell technologies to the emerging field of regenerative medicine. First, our program educates MS, PhD, and dual degree MD/PhD candidates in a didactic setting through a curriculum specifically designed to provide insight into the scientific history and current research leading to new information about stem cells and their biology, tissue maintenance and repair, and engineering of biologically functional organs for eventual clinical use. Second, we provide laboratory-based research opportunities where students can explore their own ideas under the mentorship of accomplished scientists and physicians. Third, we provide training for post-PhD and post-MD scientists to advance them toward establishing independent careers in stem cell biology, regenerative medicine, cancer research, and related fields of study. Our training program includes robust educational activities in the context of a university setting that includes several hospitals, bioengineering and bioinformatics programs, and 14 distinct PhD training tracks. Our PhD training program begins with one year of classroom training in stem cell biology, regenerative medicine, genetics, and developmental biology plus a seminar series and directed journal club which focus on emerging research. Students rotate through multiple active research laboratories and contribute to ongoing studies as they decide the laboratory and mentor with whom to pursue their thesis research. Postdoctoral trainees may audit courses but are mainly devoted to their own research projects which will culminate in publications and eventual employment in academic medical centers, biotechnology companies, or science policy positions. Postdoctoral trainees benefit from this program by the robust stem cell community and its various activities, the opportunities to participate in mentorship of students as well as having faculty to mentor them, and the networking connections that will help secure future academic or industrial jobs. We believe that diversity is central to success and strive to maintain a group of predoctoral and postdoctoral trainees that is both highly qualified and diverse. Our trainee selection process considers family background, personal obstacles, and other mitigating circumstances that highlight everyone’s personal accomplishments; we believe this holistic approach is essential to the educational process. Our graduate program is highly successful, with a track record of successful degree completion in ~5 years and subsequent employment in science-related careers in stem cell biology and regenerative medicine. Our trainees have published many hundreds of scientific studies in prominent journals and have contributed to advancement of basic research as well as clinical applications of laboratory-based discoveries.
Statement of Benefit to California:
Our CIRM Scholar Training Program provides many benefits to the citizens of the state of California who generously fund CIRM through their tax dollars. First and foremost, our program has already contributed and will continue to enhance the core mission of CIRM: To accelerate the development of cellular-based therapies that will address unmet medical needs of the citizens of California. CIRM Scholars funded in previous cycles contributed major advances that have already been integrated into new therapies for many forms of cancer as well as a variety of genetic diseases. Our program will train the next generation of scientists and enable further medical breakthroughs that would be delayed for years in the absence of CIRM support. The trainees that we will mentor through classroom exposure to stem cell biology and laboratory research in cutting edge technologies promise to continue the trajectory already established by the scientists previously supported by our CIRM Scholars training funds. Many of our past trainees have moved on to independent careers in academics, biotechnology, direct patient care, and science policy roles where they continue to push the boundaries of what can be achieved through high quality scientific research. An additional benefit to the state of California and its citizens is economic: our CIRM Scholar Training Grant will enable a diverse workforce of early-career scientists to contribute to the major impact that CIRM has enabled for California’s economy. Each trainee will work with skilled life sciences research technicians who will be hired because of the need for technical support in the projects pursued by our trainees. Many supplies for the research mission will also be purchased from California-based businesses, with a tremendous impact on the economy. Finally, many of our trainees will go on to find employment within California, working in universities, private companies, government, and other areas as a direct result of funds provided by the CIRM initiative. Our training program will help to build an ecosystem in which the important research in stem cell science can be rapidly translated to clinical trials and eventual standard of care practices that would be severely delayed in the absence of consistent and stable sources of funding for the future scientific workforce of California.
Publications
- Cell Stem Cell (2023): Allele-specific expression reveals genetic drivers of tissue regeneration in mice. (PubMed: 37714154)
- Tissue Eng Part B Rev (2023): Attenuating Chronic Fibrosis: Decreasing Foreign Body Response with Acellular Dermal Matrix. (PubMed: 37212342)
- Arterioscler Thromb Vasc Biol (2023): Combination of Distinct Vascular Stem/Progenitor Cells for Neovascularization and Ischemic Rescue. (PubMed: 37051932)
- iScience (2023): GRHL2 and AP2a coordinate early surface ectoderm lineage commitment during development. (PubMed: 36843855)
- Nat Protoc (2023): Purification and functional characterization of novel human skeletal stem cell lineages. (PubMed: 37316563)
- Nat Commun (2022): Sexually dimorphic estrogen sensing in skeletal stem cells controls skeletal regeneration. (PubMed: 36310174)
- Biomedicines (2023): Understanding Fibroblast Heterogeneity in Form and Function. (PubMed: 37626760)
