Transplantation Immunology

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CIRM Stem Cell Transplantation Immunology Awards

The potential for stem cells to replace or restore tissues lost to injury or disease represents one of the most promising outcomes of regenerative medicine. However, immune rejection of stem cell grafts remains a challenge to clinical translation of stem cell research. Methods to overcome immune rejection of stem cell derived grafts must therefore be developed to fully realize the benefits of stem cell therapies. The purpose of the CIRM Stem Cell Transplantation Immunology Awards is to fund transformative research leading to the development of immune tolerance of pluripotent stem cell derivatives and potential correction of autoimmunity.

This RFA includes participation by members of CIRM’s Collaborative Funding Partner Program. The state of Victoria, Australia and the Federal Ministry for Education and Research, Germany (BMBF) are each participating as a Funding Partner.

Please see the RFA for full details.

Note: Appendices A and B describe additional requirements and procedures for applicants whose proposals include a German or Australian collaborator to be funded by BMBF (Appendix A) or the State of Victoria (Appendix B) respectively. California applicants with or without collaborative projects must apply as described below.

Letter of Intent Instructions and Forms:

Submission of an application for the Stem Cell Transplantation Immunology RFA involves a two-step process in which an applicant first submits a Letter of Intent (LOI). Unless notified by CIRM that he/she does not meet the eligibility criteria as specified in the LOI form, the applicant may submit an application. Each eligible applicant may submit only a single LOI for this RFA.

The completed LOI form (less the Official signature) must be sent as an interactive pdf document (original document format; document must not be “flattened” or converted to another format) as distinct email attachment to ImmunologyLOI@cirm.ca.gov and must be received by CIRM no later than 5:00 p.m. PST on December 15, 2009. Additionally, a hard copy of the cover (first) page of the LOI, signed by an institutional official authorized to sign on behalf of the applicant’s organization, must be received by CIRM no later than 5:00 pm (PST), on December 15, 2009. This signed cover page must be sent to:

Stem Cell Transplantation Immunology LOI
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
210 King Street
San Francisco, Ca 94107

It is the applicant’s responsibility to meet this deadline; no exceptions will be made.

You will need a fully functional copy of Adobe Acrobat version 8 or 9 (Standard or Professional) to complete, print and save the LOI Form. We recommend using Adobe Acrobat 8.1 (or the latest version). Using Adobe Acrobat reader will not permit you to save information that is entered in the form.

Application Instructions and Forms

Applications will only be accepted from applicants who submitted a Letter of Intent that was accepted by CIRM.

The application for the Stem Cell Transplantation immunology Award consists of four parts: Part A: Application Information Form, Part B: Stem Cell Transplantation Immunology Award Research Proposal, Part C: Biographical Sketches for Key Personnel, and Part D: Related Business Entities Disclosure Form.
All four parts of the application for Stem Cell Transplantation Awards must be submitted together and received by CIRM no later than 5:00pm PST on January 26, 2010, in both electronic form and in hard copy (a signed original and five copies). It is the applicant’s responsibility to meet the deadline; no exceptions will be made.

Send electronic copies of all parts of the application as attachments in a single email to immunology@cirm.ca.gov. In addition to the electronic submission, applicants must submit an original copy of the application (consisting of Parts A-D) signed by the applicant and the institution’s Authorized Organizational Official (AOO), plus 5 copies of the full application (preferably double-sided) to:

Stem Cell Transplantation Immunology Application
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
210 King Street
San Francisco, Ca 94107

You will need a fully functional copy of Adobe Acrobat version 8 or 9 (Standard or Professional) to complete, print and save Parts A and D of the application. We recommend using Adobe Acrobat 8.1 (or the latest version). Using Adobe Acrobat Reader will not permit you to save information that is entered in the form.

Schedule of Deadlines and Reviews Date
Letter of Intent Due 5:00 PM (PST), December 15, 2009
Applications Due 5:00 pm (PST), January 26, 2010
Anticipated review of full applications by Grants Working Group (GWG) April, 2010
Review and Approval by ICOC June, 2010
Earliest Funding of Awards Summer, 2010

No exceptions will be made to the indicated deadlines.

ICOC Approval:
April 29, 2010
Total Awards:
20
Award Value:
$23,966,409

Awards

Institution Investigator Grant Title Award Value
University of California, Berkeley Dr. Ellen A. Robey Human Immune System Mouse models as preclinical platforms for stem cell derived grafts $1,005,605
Scripps Research Institute Dr. Nicholas R.J. Gascoigne Role of Innate Immunity in hematopoeitic stem cell-mediated allograft tolerance $1,705,554
Stanford University Dr. Kenneth Weinberg Engineered immune tolerance by Stem Cell-derived thymic regeneration $1,271,729
University of California, Berkeley Dr. David H Raulet Inactivating NK cell reactivity to facilitate transplantation of stem cell derived tissue $952,896
Stanford University Dr. Robert Negrin MD Regulatory T cell induced tolerance to ESC transplantation $1,382,658
University of California, San Diego Prof. Martin Marsala Induction of immune tolerance after spinal grafting of human ES-derived neural precursors $1,387,800
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center Dr. Terrence Town Role of HLA in neural stem cell rejection using humanized mice $1,119,385
University of Southern California Dr. Terrence Christopher Town Role of HLA in neural stem cell rejection using humanized mice $353,249
Stanford University Professor Christopher H. Contag Engineering Embryonic Stem Cell Allografts for Operational Tolerance $1,411,338
University of California, San Diego Dr. Yang Xu Induction of immune tolerance to human embryonic stem cell-derived allografts $1,192,680
University of California, Los Angeles Dr. Gay Miriam Crooks Engineering Thymic Regeneration to Induce Tolerance $1,235,445
University of California, Davis Dr. William J Murphy Donor natural killer (NK) cells as “veto” cells to promote donor-specific tolerance $1,257,601
Palo Alto Veterans Institute for Research Dr. Husein Hadeiba Application of Tolerogenic Dendritic Cells for Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation $733,061
Escape Therapeutics, Inc Basil M Hantash Development of an immune tolerant hESC source for allogeneic cell therapy applications $1,453,040
La Jolla Institute for Allergy and Immunology Dr. Anjana Rao Generation of regulatory T cells by reprogramming $1,464,446
University of California, San Francisco Dr. Tippi C. Mackenzie MD Maternal and Fetal Immune Responses to In Utero Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation $1,230,869
Scripps Research Institute Dr. Jeanne F Loring Thymus based tolerance to stem cell therapies $1,108,921
Stanford University Dr. Judith A Shizuru Purified allogeneic hematopoietic stem cells as a platform for tolerance induction $1,233,275
University of California, San Francisco Dr. Jeffrey A Bluestone Stem cell tolerance through the use of engineered antigen-specific regulatory T cells $1,152,768
University of California, San Francisco Dr. Mark S. Anderson Stem cell differentiation to thymic epithelium for inducing tolerance to stem cells $1,314,089
Total:
$23,966,409.01