ALBANY - Governor David A. Paterson announced that nearly $109 million in new state funding is being made available to support stem cell research initiatives in New York. The nearly $109 million represents the second round of available funding from the state’s 11-year, $600 million stem cell research initiative that was approved as part of last year’s state budget.

“This new funding will strengthen and revitalize New York’s biomedical research industry and potentially help thousands of New Yorkers who suffer debilitating diseases, including Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, diabetes and cancer,” said Governor Paterson who played a leading role in the development and implementation of the state’s stem cell initiative while he was Lieutenant Governor.

The first awards – totaling nearly $15 million – were made to 25 research institutions in January. Those grants focused on increasing the capacity of research institutions in New York State to engage in stem cell research.

New York State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, M.D., who serves as Chair of the Empire State Stem Cell Board, said: “The research funded by this initiative offers the promise of new treatments, therapies and even cures for some of the most serious diseases. This funding will also provide an economic stimulus to New York’s biomedical industry at a time when funding from the National Institutes of Health has not kept up with the need.”

The majority of New Yorkers support embryonic stem cell research, as demonstrated by a 2006 Zogby International poll which found that 84 percent of New Yorkers support embryonic stem cell research. Nearly 70 percent of those polled expressed support for state funding as a way of countering President Bush’s policy restricting federal funding to research that only uses human embryonic stem cell lines in existence as of August 9, 2001.
The new RFAs seek proposals to broadly stimulate stem cell research through:

• Consortia Planning Grants – to encourage collaborations among new and established stem cell investigators within and between New York State institutions and in partnership with non-New York State investigators and corporations.
• Facilities and Equipment Grants – to support the establishment and operation of multi-institutional core facilities and specialized equipment to maximize the expertise, efficiency, and quality of stem cell research.
• Investigator-Initiated Research Projects and Innovative, Developmental or Exploratory Activities (IDEA) in Stem Cell Research – to support investigations of stem cell biology that will increase understanding of the unique properties of stem cells and allow their use to treat disease; awards for well developed basic, translational or pre-clinical research, or for preliminary testing of novel or high-risk hypotheses.
• Targeted Investigation of Pluripotent Stem Cells – to support the development of improved methods for deriving pluripotent stem cell lines; defining the reprogramming mechanisms, and comparing the utility of induced pluripotent stem (IPS) cells with embryonic and other pluripotent stem cells for use in disease models and potential therapeutic applications. Induced pluripotent cells, like embryonic cells, have the potential to develop into other types of body tissues.