Three teams of HSCI researchers are slated to receive $27 million over seven years in National Heart Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) grants for the development of stem-cell based tools and treatments to understand and treat cardiovascular and blood disorders. The NHLBI Progenitor Cell Biology Consortium will consist of nine research hubs, each involving multidisciplinary teams from two academic medical centers. Eighteen research groups nationwide are receiving $170 million under the program, which is one of the largest single infusions ever of federal funding for stem cell research.
The consortium’s hubs which are made up of scientists from around the country, create a virtual “Who’s Who” of stem and progenitor cell research, and include no fewer than 11 HSCI faculty members. Included are HSCI Co-Directors Douglas Melton, PhD, and David Scadden, MD; HSCI Executive Committee members Kenneth Chien, MD, PhD, George Daley, MD, PhD, Amy Wagers, PhD, and Leonard Zon, MD; HSCI Principal Faculty members Carla F. Kim, PhD, Stuart H. Orkin, MD, Kevin Kit Parker, PhD, and Sean Wu, MD, PhD; and HSCI Affiliated Faculty member Ibrahim Domian, MD, PhD.
The goals of the consortium are to identify and characterize progenitor cell lines, direct the differentiation of stem and progenitor cells to desired cell fates, and develop new clinical strategies to address the unique challenges presented by the transplantation of these cells.