By Eileen Conrad

	UCSB is part of the state’s growing stem cell research infrastucture, says biologist Dennis Clegg, director of the Stem Cell Program.

Research Institutions across Southern California have joined forces to advance stem cell research by establishing the Southern California Stem Cell Scientific Collaboration (SC3). Members of the collaboration include UC Santa Barbara, the University of Southern California (USC), Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, City of Hope, the California Institute of Technology, and the House Ear Institute.

Through grants from organizations, such as the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and the National Institutes of Health, SC3 members have a long history of collaboration on various projects. By allowing members to share training programs, scientific facilities, and expertise, the new agreement is a major step toward support of potentially significant stem cell findings.

“The SC3 collaboration is already engendering new ideas for collaborative projects between scientists at the participating institutions,” said Dennis Clegg, director of the Stem Cell Program and chair of the Department of Molecular, Cellular, and Developmental Biology. “UCSB will benefit from shared resources and synergistic collaborations in stem cell research as part of a proposed Center for Stem Cell Biology and Engineering.”

UCSB has a CIRM-funded stem cell training program and a shared lab facility. Research in the proposed center will focus on two areas of basic and discovery stem cell research: molecular mechanisms and bioengineering. The long-term goal will be the application of results to the development of stem cell-based therapeutics for human disease, particularly macular degeneration.

“The potential applications for stem cell research in medicine are enormous,” said Martin Pera, director of USC’s Center for Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine. “We are delighted to have an opportunity to work with such an outstanding collection of scientists to really accelerate the pace of discovery … in regenerative medicine.”

A joint scientific advisory committee, with representatives from each institution, will develop collaborative research ventures, facilitate access to scientific resources, and provide expertise. Regional seminar programs and courses, such as the ongoing CIRM-funded stem cell biology course involving USC, Caltech, and Childrens Hospital Los Angeles, will be expanded.

The agreement also ensures that each member provides access to resources to investigators for training or to conduct short-term research projects.

“For patients and their families, cures for cancer, HIV/AIDS and other diseases cannot come soon enough,” said Dr. Michael A. Friedman, president of City of Hope. “Stem cell research is vibrant at Childrens Hospital Los Angeles because of the long-term commitment to high quality research in general, and stem cell research in particular,” said Dr. Gay M. Crooks, director of the hospital’s Stem Cell Program.