The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) announced on Friday that it has awarded more than 10 million U.S. dollars in grants to promote stem cell research.

The grants, which will go to three universities in Southern California, are intended to generate new ideas for future therapies and lead to advances in understanding the basic mechanisms underlying stem cell biology, cellular plasticity and cellular differentiation, the CIRM said.

Alan Trounson, CIRM president, said the grants will help maintain the flow of ideas entering the research pipeline.

"These basic biology grants will generate new ideas for future therapies and also provide information to help overcome barriers in bringing therapies to patients," he said.

Grants of at least 1.3 million dollars each were awarded to the University of California in Los Angeles (USLA), the University of Southern California (USC) and the University of California in San Diego (UCSD), the CIRM said.

Pera, director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC, said the funds should give new insight into how embryonic stem cells multiply in the laboratory and how they become specialized tissues.

"The scientists will also learn more about the reverse of this process, specifically how cells from adult tissues can undergo conversion to a state resembling embryonic cells," he said. "These findings will help in large-scale production of various specialized cells for use in research or the treatment of disease."

Given their unique regenerative abilities, stem cells offer potential for treating diseases such as diabetes and heart disease.

CIRM was established in 2004 with the passage of Proposition 71,the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act.

The statewide ballot measure, which provided three billion dollars in funding for stem cell research at California universities and research institutions, was approved by voters, and called for the establishment of an entity to make grants and provide loans for stem cell research, research facilities, and other research opportunities.

To date, the CIRM governing board has approved 294 research and facility grants totaling more than 761 million dollars, making CIRM the largest source of funding for human embryonic stem cell research in the world, the CIRM said.

Source: Xinhua