Governor Malloy announced on Thursday that $9.8 million would be awarded to 20 Connecticut projects for stem cell research.
The State of Connecticut Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee awarded the recipients at a grant review meeting on Tuesday in Farmington.
Seventy-nine applications were accepted for consideration in January, and the Connecticut Stem Cell Research Peer Review Committee reviewed the applications based on the National Institutes of Health guidelines.
The Advisory Committee Chairperson and Department of Public Health Commissioner, Dr. Jewel Mullen said “this year’s awardees submitted a wide range of research projects ranging from basic stem cell research to a new disease directed category of grants which are closer to clinical application.”
Nine grants were awarded to both Yale University and the University of Connecticut, one grant awarded to Wesleyan University and one awarded to Chondrogenics Inc.
The largest amount of a single grant was $1,290,499. UConn received a grant for this amount for a project entitled, “Stem Cell Approaches for Defining Patient-specific Predisposition to Idiosyncratic Drug-induced Liver Injury” Chondrogenics Inc. also received a grant for that amount for a project entitled “Development of a Potential Therapy for Osteoarthritic Cartilage Damage using HESC-derived Chondrogenic Cells.”
Governor Malloy said the awards show Connecticut’s dedication to stem cell research and the life sciences. “Connecticut continues to conduct some of the finest stem cell research in the country, and these awardees further demonstrate Connecticut’s promise as a leader in bioscience,” stated Malloy.
