CGS-authored
California's $3 billion experiment in state-financed stem cell research has arrived at a critical turning point.
Officials leading the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine say they have reached "essential agreement" with legislative foes to settle disputes about conflicts of interest and open meetings. Meanwhile, the institute's leaders are gearing up for a new phase: the actual disbursement of money.
The first round of grants is under way to help pay for a three-year training initiative for stem cell researchers starting this fall at medical schools and other institutions around the state. Members of a scientific working group will meet in early August to score the first 28 proposals.
Other contentious issues involving intellectual property and patent rights have yet to be settled. But even some staunch critics of the stem cell institute say the biggest fight seems to be winding down, after an institute subcommittee agreed to a set of interim "policy enhancements" that will require broader financial disclosures and assure most working group meetings will be public.
"They've come a long way," said Jesse Reynolds, project manager at the...
Officials leading the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine say they have reached "essential agreement" with legislative foes to settle disputes about conflicts of interest and open meetings. Meanwhile, the institute's leaders are gearing up for a new phase: the actual disbursement of money.
The first round of grants is under way to help pay for a three-year training initiative for stem cell researchers starting this fall at medical schools and other institutions around the state. Members of a scientific working group will meet in early August to score the first 28 proposals.
Other contentious issues involving intellectual property and patent rights have yet to be settled. But even some staunch critics of the stem cell institute say the biggest fight seems to be winding down, after an institute subcommittee agreed to a set of interim "policy enhancements" that will require broader financial disclosures and assure most working group meetings will be public.
"They've come a long way," said Jesse Reynolds, project manager at the...