Just one day before the California stem cell agency announced it was cutting off applications for more research funding, it made an ardent pitch to the public for increased support.
The appeal concerned a public event that the agency, formally known as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), is staging on Tuesday in Los Angeles.
In an item on the agency's blog, The Stem Cellar, Kevin McCormack, senior director of communications, briefly recounted the $3 billion agency's work. And then he wrote,
"We still have a lot to do. The problem is we are quickly running out of money. We expect to have enough money to fund new projects up to the end of this year....Some may get funding from other sources, but many won’t. We don’t want to let that happen."
Stem researchers, CIRM leaders and others will be there. McCormack said,
"It’s going to be an opportunity to learn about the real progress being made in stem cell research, thanks in no small part to CIRM’s funding."
On the web page for the event, there was also this:
"You'll hear from a woman whose infant daughter was cured of a fatal immune-system disorder, from the doctor who developed that treatment and from stem cell champions who are worried what will happen to the most promising research if CIRM no longer exists."The free, public event will be in the Los Angeles Convention Center, 1201 South Figueroa St., Petree Hall C. The event begins at 6 p.m. but McCormack said CIRM staffers will be there at 5 p.m. to answer questions.
Interested persons can RSVP here. But it is unlikely that anyone will be turned away.
No comments:
Post a Comment