image: Human induced pluripotent stem cells
Credit: USC/Ichida Lab
USC is partnering with seven of Los Angeles’ leading regenerative medicine institutes to form the Los Angeles and surrounding area regenerative medicine consortium (LA-RMC), with the goal of fulfilling the promise of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM): to develop laboratory discoveries into treatments for patients with unmet medical needs.
CIRM, the voter-created agency that provides public funding for stem cell research in California, is dedicated to advancing regenerative medicine, which uses stem cells and related approaches to treat disease and disorders. Regenerative approaches may apply cell-based treatments directly in a patient or use gene therapies to correct genetic disorders affecting normal tissue functions. In addition, stem cell-directed disease modeling provides new insights for therapy development and a platform to screen for disease-fighting drugs.
CIRM has provided a transformative source of research funding for the regenerative medicine consortium partners in the Los Angeles area:
- Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC
- Cedars-Sinai Board of Governors Regenerative Medicine Institute
- City of Hope
- California Institute of Technology
- University of California, Irvine, Sue and Bill Gross Stem Cell Research Center
- UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center
- University of California, Riverside, Stem Cell Center
- University of California, Santa Barbara, Center for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering
The consortium partners will meet annually to discuss opportunities for collaboration and for maximizing CIRM’s investment in accelerating the future of regenerative medicine.
At the first of these meetings, a recent three-day summit organized by Cedars-Sinai and held at Lake Arrowhead, more than 100 participants discussed working together on educational courses, cell and gene therapy manufacturing, shared research facilities providing core services such as microscopy, scientific innovations, and clinical trials.
“LA has tremendous strength with a depth of world-class institutions. As the field of regenerative medicine matures, it becomes increasingly important for us to collaborate across institutes,” said Andy McMahon, director of the Eli and Edythe Broad Center for Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research at USC. “This is the ideal moment for us to formalize our ongoing commitment to working together, maximizing the potential of CIRM support towards our shared goal of bringing stem cell therapies to patients.”