Malloy announces 11 grants for stem cell research totaling about $10 million

Governor Malloy this morning announced about $10 million in stem cell research grants to 18 Connecticut–based researchers, mostly Yale-affiliated entities.

“These grants represent another example of Connecticut’s unprecedented investment in biomedical research,” Malloy said in a statement. “The Connecticut Stem Cell program helps to foster an environment in our state where scientists can pursue innovative research – work that is already promising new therapies for debilitating diseases.”

The Connecticut Stem Cell Research Peer Review Committee reviewed 111 applications that were received last December. “We are fortunate to see such outstanding applications from Connecticut researchers,” said Department of Public Health Commissioner and Advisory Committee Chairperson Dr. Jewel Mullen in another prepared statement. “The research supported by the Connecticut Stem Cell program provides hope to future generations of patients for medical therapies that will treat some of our greatest health challenges.”

Here are the winners: 

Core Grants:

 

Continued Support and Technology Development for Shared Core Facilities at the Yale Stem Cell Center

Yale University

Haifan Lin, Principal Investigator

$499,974

 

UConn-Wesleyan Stem Cell Core

University of Connecticut Health Center

Marc Lalande, Ren-He Xu, Principal Investigators

$500,000

 

Group Grant:

 

Studying the Therapeutic Role of iPSCs in Human Lupus

Yale University

Joseph Craft, Principal Investigator

$1,200,000

 

Disease Directed Grants:

 

Mechanisms of Crohn’s Disease Revealed by Patient-Specific Stem Cells

The Jackson Laboratory for Genomic Medicine

Frank Mckeon, Principal Investigator

$1,100,000

 

Using Dup15q iPSCs to explore the genetics and synaptic pathophysiology of autism

University of Connecticut Health Center

Stormy Chamberlain, Principal Investigator

$1,100,000

 

Established Grants:

 

Modeling human cortico-striatal circuit and understanding dendritic spines in schizophrenia

University of Connecticut Health Center

Xin-Ming Ma, Principal Investigator

$750,000

 

Use of neonatal Human Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells and Human Embryonic Stem Cells in Hyperoxia Induced Lung Injury

University of Connecticut Health Center

Christine Finck, Principal Investigator

$750,000

 

Dissecting human embryonic stem cell pluripotency with functional genomics approaches

Yale University

Natalia Ivanova, Principal Investigator

$550,200

 

Reconstruction of an outer retina for transplantation and pharmaceutical testing

Yale University

Lawrence Rizzolo, Principal Investigator

$550,200

 

Modeling Pax7-associated craniofacial defects with Human ES derived neural crest

Yale University

Martin Garcia-Castro, Principal Investigator

$500,000

 

Regulation of Stem Cell Self-Renewal and Differentiation during Human Neurogenesis

Yale University

Weimin Zhong, Principal Investigator

$550,200

 

TNFR-Bmx signaling in cardiac stem cells and cardiac repair

Yale University

Wang Min, Principal Investigator

$750,000

 

Seed Grants:

 

Engineering patient-specific tracheas using iPSC-derived airway epithelial cells

Yale University

Mahboobe Ghaedi, Principal Investigator

$199,892

 

Use of human embryonic stem cells and murine neural stem cells to elucidate pro-apoptotic signaling in Glioblastoma

Yale University

Samuel Katz, Principal Investigator

$200,000

 

Understanding mechanism of tissue repair by live imaging

Yale University

Sangbum Park, Principal Investigator

$200,000

 

Human embryonic and patient‐derived induced pluripotent stem cell models of neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis

Yale University

Sreeganga Chandra, Principal Investigator

$200,000

 

Investigating the role of RIFI in human embryonic stem cells

Yale University

Yifei Liu, Principal Investigator

$200,000

 

In vivo characterization of periosteal mesenchymal stem cells

University of Connecticut Health Center

Brya Matthews, Principal Investigator

$199,500

 

For additional information, visit www.ct.gov/dph/stemcell.