Calif. takes center stage in stem cell forum

The International Stem Cell Forum is meeting in San Francisco, bringing together 21 stem cell research institutes and representatives from 19 countries to review such issues as the moral and ethical guidelines needed for research and the registry of ESCs lines. Alan Trounson, the newly appointed president of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, noted that this is the first time the state has hosted the event--indicating California's rising position in the field of stem cell research.

Since the spring of 2006, the CIRM has handed out $260 million to 22 institutions, making the state the largest backer of stem cell research in the world. The CIRM is now wrapping its second round of grants, dispensing $262 million to researchers. California has been listed as one of the top economic development regions in the world by FierceBiotech for three years running.

- read the report in the San Francisco Examiner

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