The University of Cambridge in the U.K. is set to host the latest stem cell research institute, armed with more than £8 million ($12.5 million) in funding and a push to grow collaboration between academia, hospitals and industry.
Wellcome Trust and the Medical Research Council are backing the effort, both parties announced Aug. 9, which will link 30 different research teams who have expertise in embryonic, adult and induced pluripotent stem cell research. Their mandate: To promote work between industry experts, academic and hospital researchers to develop new treatments for a variety of diseases. They will focus specifically on pluripotency, haematopoiesis, epithelial tissues, and also neural and cardiovascular stem cells.
Placing the center in Cambridge is no accident, either. As the funders note, the center will be near what they bill as the largest cluster of biotechnology companies in Europe. And the new name is a mouthful: The Wellcome Trust-Medical Research Council Cambridge Stem Cell Institute.
"Our aim is to close the knowledge gap and drive stem cell research forwards towards clinical applications," said the institute's new director Austin Smith in a statement.
The launch of the center is yet another example of accelerated coordination of stem cell research efforts with some pressure to advance them to human clinical trials and beyond. While academic research continues, entities such as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine are shifting priorities away from which projects the state agency will fund. CIRM's funding focus is now less on the laboratory and more toward human clinical trials led by multidisciplinary teams of researchers from industry, academic institutions and hospitals. CIRM recently used that tweaked criteria for a $150 million round of grants for a variety of projects.
Cambridge isn't the only major university to house a multifaceted stem cell research institute. As Bloomberg notes, the Harvard Stem Cell Institute launched in 2004 and brings together 225 faculty members along with 1,000 scientists, post-docs and students in a concerted effort to develop viable new stem cell treatments. Similarly, the Oxford Stem Cell Institute brings together 42 different research groups, according to the story.
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