|
State of the State Address 2008
“As our health care reforms embrace common sense, they must also embrace the cutting edge. Last year, working together and guided by the leadership of Lt. Governor Paterson, we created a $600 million Stem Cell Research Fund. He and I share the belief that, yes, stem cell research is an economic development opportunity, but it is also a moral imperative.”
-Governor Eliot Spitzer (January 9, 2008)
Our Program
- The 2007-08 Enacted Budget included $600 million for the purpose of awarding research grants designed to advance scientific discoveries in fields related to stem cell biology, over an 11-year period.
- The Fund will make grants for basic, applied, translational and other research that advances scientific discoveries in fields related to stem cell biology.
- The 25-member Empire State Stem Cell Board (ESSCB) was established to oversee and administer the program. The ESSCB includes appointees representing the Governor (12), Senate Majority (4), Assembly Majority (4), Senate Minority (2), Assembly Minority (2), and the Commissioner of the Department of Health Richard F. Daines, M.D. who chairs the Board.
- The Board includes two committees – the Funding Committee and Ethics Committee – each consisting of 12 members and the Commissioner of Health, (who serves as the chair of each)
- The Funding Committee makes grant recommendations, upon the analysis and recommendations of an independent scientific peer review process.
- The Ethics Committee makes recommendations regarding scientific, medical and ethical standards.
- The Department of Health will be providing for independent peer reviews, conducted by individuals with expertise in the field of biomedical and bioengineering research, to review the scientific and technical merits of proposals and provide guidance to the funding committee.
Status
- On January 7, 2008, the ESCCB Funding Committee awarded the first round of grants, totaling $14.5 million, ranging from $100,000 to $1 million to 25 institutions throughout the State. The grants will support direct stem cell research, stem cell research infrastructure and stem cell research training.
- The Funding Committee is considering other proposed grant offerings for: sharing facilities and resources, establishing consortiums, and research for induced pluripotent stem cells. The applications for these grants will be released over the next few months.
- On November 30, 2007, the Ethics Committee recommended interim standards for human embryonic stem cell research funded in response to the first Request for Applications.
- A Request For Proposals (RFP) – issued November 5, 2007 – seeks proposals from organizations that will arrange for the peer reviews for future rounds of stem cell grant applications.
- The Executive Budget will provide continued funding for this important initiative.
|