California's stem cell funding institute is teaming up with its British counterpart to support research collaborations between scientists, it was reported on Tuesday.
This is part of an effort by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) to form international partnerships to amplify the impact of its research support, the San Francisco Chronicle said.
The CIRM has been authorized by a 2004 voter initiative to spend 3 billion U.S. dollars in taxpayer money on stem cell research within the state.
Under a new agreement signed by the two sides on Monday, scientists from California and Britain will file joint grant applications to the state's stem cell funding institute and Britain's Medical Research Council, the paper said.
For teams that win grants, the California institute will fund the work of the California members and the research council will pay for the research conducted in Britain, according to the report.
One of the California institute's primary goals "is to accelerate the field of stem cell research as a whole, and in some instances we can do this more effectively through collaborations that involve the best scientific endeavors, regardless of geography," said CIRM's President Alan Trounson.
The state stem cell funding institute announced similar agreements in June with the Australian state of Victoria and Canada's Cancer Stem Cell Consortium. Victoria pledged 100 million dollars to the effort.
The CIRM has not committed a specific amount of money to Britain collaborations, said Patricia Olson, director of scientific activities. Since it was established in 2005, the state institute has approved grants worth more than 614 million dollars for research and laboratories.
Olson said the international collaborative teams will be encouraged to design projects that move stem cell technology closer to treatments that can be tested in human subjects.
Britain's Minister for Science Lord Drayson said his region is a world leader in stem cell research. "By forging collaborations with California, we can bring together the best minds across continents to accelerate the search for cures and the development of stem cell-based therapies, for the benefit of people around the world."
Source: Xinhua
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