UCs to vie for Prop 71 funds

The recently passed Proposition 71 will offer various University
of California campuses funding and open new leadership positions
for their cutting edge research on stem cells.

The proposition, also known as the California Stem Cell Research
and Cures Act, established the California Institute for
Regenerative Medicine, which will provide funding for and regulate
the research within the state.

The institute will be governed by the Independent
Citizen’s Oversight Committee, a body constituted of 29
members from five UC campuses, and various other institutes
specializing in medical and disease research.

“We do believe UC campuses will be very competitive for
the funding. We have superb faculty that are among the
world’s leaders,” said Brad Hayward, a spokesman for
the UC Office of the President, about the opportunity offered to
the UC campuses, adding that “the opportunity to do research
will be collaborative.”

“We are involved in a partnership effort,” he
said.

The UC representatives to the committee will come from the
Davis, San Francisco, Irvine, San Diego and Los Angeles campuses,
and will be picked by the respective chancellors of each
school.

The other representatives will be picked by Gov. Arnold
Schwarzenegger and members of his cabinet.

Only one appointee, Dr. Philip Pizzo, the dean of the Stanford
School of Medicine, has been selected so far, according to the San
Francisco Chronicle. The other members of the committee will be
finalized within the next 40 days.

“This is an important day for science and medicine as the
passage of Proposition 71 will bring new funds to a field of
research that has shown the potential to change the way we
understand and treat disease,” Pizzo said in a statement from
the Stanford School of Medicine.

“Equally important, passage of Proposition 71 is a clear
affirmation from the citizens of California that they value this
area of investigation. Without question, this will help further
stimulate the national discussion about the value and importance of
stem cell research,” he said.

The committee will meet twice a year, and their responsibilities
will include establishing standards and rules for researchers and
patients, creating long-term financial plans, making financial
decisions, and issuing public reports.

The committee will decide who receives the $300 million of
grants and loans annually budgeted by the proposition for
research.

Many advocates of stem cell research hope the non-specialized
cells found in both humans and animals will enable scientists to
find cures for diseases such as cancer, HIV/AIDS, diabetes,
Alzheimer’s disease and spinal cord injuries.

While the proposition does allow research to be done on stem
cells, no research on embryonic cells or on human reproductive
cloning will be funded or permitted.

The UC system, which already conducts research on stem cells,
will also benefit from the revenues, patents and licenses that may
be produced.

But the actual future fiscal revenues from the research are
unknown.