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The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine granted $24 million on Friday to stem cell researchers in the state.

Most of the money, $23 million, will fund research into the derivation and propagation of new lines of pluripotent human stem cells, those with the potential to form almost all of the cell types of the body. Such research is significant because of its application in understanding, diagnosing and treating serious injury and disease.

Research teams at the University of California campuses in San Francisco, Irvine, Los Angeles, San Diego, as well as teams at Stanford University, the J. David Gladstone Institute, Burnham Institute for Medical Research, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the University of Southern California received the 16 grants.

"Ultimately, our goal is to apply the knowledge gained in basic research towards treatments and cures for patients" stated Alan Trounson, president of CIRM.

The agency also awarded 22 grants totaling $1.1 million to support multidisciplinary teams of scientists planning to pursue therapies for specific diseases.

One planning grant, worth $55,000, was awarded to Mark Walters, director of Children’s Hospital Oakland’s Blood & Marrow Transplant Program cash til payday loan. His team is planning a project devoted to extending the use of blood stem cell transplantation for genetic diseases, such as sickle cell anemia in California.

The funding behind the grants comes from California’s voter-approved Proposition 71. That proposition is raising $3 billion through the sale of state bonds and created CIRM, which funds stem cell researchers at universities, medical schools, hospitals and other facilities.

The agency also announced Friday that it has appointed John Robson to be its vice president for operations, responsible for all administrative and operational aspects of the Institute’s functioning as well as the ongoing work of the facilities working group.

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