Five new scientific grant reviewers are expected to be approved tomorrow by
directors of the California stem cell agency, and at least four have
backgrounds that might make them judges in the upcoming $40 million stem cell genomics round.
They include one scientist who once held $7.4 million in grants
from the California stem cell agency. He is Martin Pera of the
University of Melbourne in Australia. Pera was the first head of the
USC stem cell program, serving from 2006 to 2011. The program was
launched in the wake of the passage of Prop. 71, which created
California's $3 billion stem cell program.
According to the University of Melbourne, Pera has done a
significant amount of research in the area of cytogentics and genome
mapping.
Scientific grant reviewers for CIRM all come from out-of-state.
Pera is likely the first former CIRM grant recipient to be selected
as one of the reviewers who make 98 percent of the decisions on the
agency's grant applications. None are required to disclose publicly
their financial or professional interests.
Other proposed scientific reviewers include:
Bradley Bernstein of Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard,
who is co-director of the epigenomics program at the Broad Institute.
Richard Gibbs, director of the human genome sequencing center at
the Baylor College of Medicine.
Barry Rosen of the Wellcome Trust in the United Kingdom, who has
done work in genetics and genome engineering.
Steven Jon Russell of the Harvard Medical School, who works in
diabetes and completed the first outpatient trial of a treatment
device described as a closed-loop artificial pancreas blood glucose
control system.
Others being reappointed are Shelly Heimfeld of Hutchinson Cancer
Research Center, Ihor Lemischka of Mount Sinai and Thomas Zwaka, also
of Baylor.
The CIRM staff document prepared for tomorrow's meeting contains
additional information on all the scientists.
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