On June 15, 2005, Connecticut’s Governor M. Jodi Rell signed into law “An Act Permitting Stem Cell Research and Banning the Cloning of Human Beings.” This landmark legislation appropriated the sum of $100 million over ten years for the purpose of grants-in-aid for conducting embryonic or human adult stem cell research.
Passage of the act positioned Connecticut as just the third state in the nation in providing public funding in support of embryonic and human adult stem cell research. CURE was a major supporter of the legislation and instrumental in securing its passage.
“This is a great day for Connecticut bioscience. It marks a significant step forward for those suffering from a host of diseases and conditions. It is also a further step toward attracting substantial investment and high-paying jobs to Connecticut,” said Paul R. Pescatello, president and CEO of CURE, when the act was passed.
News Flash
UConn launches stem cell research website.
Connecticut will host a major international stem cell conference in March 27-28 2007. Learn more
The State of Connecticut Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee on Nov 21, 2006 announced the allocation of $19.78 million in stem cell research funds to researchers from Yale, Wesleyan, and the University of Connecticut. This is the first installment of grants from the Stem Cell Research Fund, established by the Connecticut General Assembly and signed into law by Governor M. Jodi Rell in 2005. Between now and 2015, the committee is tasked with allocating approximately $100 million in order to encourage stem cell research in Connecticut. Read more
The University of Connecticut has named Ren-He Xu, a developmental biologist and expert in growing human embryonic stem cells lines, director of UConn’s new human embryonic stem cell core laboratory. Xu will also become a faculty member of the Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology at the Health Center, with a joint appointment at the Center for Regenerative Biology in Storrs. Read more
Haifan Lin has been appointed director of the Yale Stem Cell Program, Yale School of Medicine Dean Robert Alpern announced. Lin, formerly a cell biology professor and co-director and co-founder of the Duke (University) Stem Cell Research Program, will oversee a group of a half-dozen scientists devoted to research into fundamental aspects of stem cell biology. Read more
Implementation of the Act
The act established a Connecticut Stem Cell Research Advisory and Peer Review Committee, with the Commissioner of Public Health as chair. Implementation of the Act is being achieved through the development of collaborative relationships among the Department of Public Health and members of the local, national and international stem cell research community, including scientists, policy makers, advocates and consumers.
In addition to CURE, major partners in the Connecticut stem cell effort include Connecticut Innovations, the Connecticut Stem Cell Research Coalition, and academic research institutions, Including The University of Connecticut, Wesleyan University, and Yale University.
Connecticut is committed to getting public dollars into the hands of its very talented and very passionate stem cell research community. The state is also committed to leveraging public dollars to attract new researchers, to improve and promote for-profit and not-for-profit embryonic and human stem cell and related research, to identify additional public and private funding resources to support such research, and to recruit new scientists, researchers and businesses to Connecticut.
The Department of Public Health maintains a
stem cell research website with more information and further links on the progress of stem cell research in Connecticut. The University of Connecticut (UConn) also maintains a stem cell research website.
CURE's background kit (PDF) on stem cell research is available here.