[Congressional Record Volume 151, Number 165 (Monday, December 19, 2005)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2616]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




         SCIENTISTS WHO WILL RECEIVE STEM CELL RESEARCH GRANTS

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                           HON. RUSH D. HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                       Sunday, December 18, 2005

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, yesterday, I came to the House floor to 
announce that New Jersey had just become the first state in the nation 
to distribute public funds for human embryonic stem cell research.
  I wanted to include in the Record a list of the scientists who will 
receive these stem cell research grants. All grants are approximately 
$300,000. The scientists, work at a number of different institutions 
around New Jersey: Rutgers University, New Jersey Institute of 
Technology, The Coriell Institute for Medical Research, Princeton 
University, UMDNJ-RWJMS, Amorcyte, Inc.
  The New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology voted in a public 
meeting to--award Stem Cell Research Grants to the following:

       T. Arinzeh, Nanofiber Scaffold for Stem Cell Based 
     Cartilage Repair, To test whether stem cells can be used to 
     repair cartilage defects with the potential for providing new 
     tissue engineering therapies that could help cancer patients 
     who have had tumors removed from bones, osteoporosis and 
     other cartilage and tendon damage.
       R. Cohen, Training in Human Embryonic Stem Cell Biology, To 
     provide basic and advanced training in the field of human 
     embryonic stem cell biology and to develop a well-trained 
     pool of scientists in New Jersey proficient in hESC culture 
     techniques with the goal of advancing New Jersey's leadership 
     in stem cell research.
       R.Hart, Regulation of microRNA Gene Expression in 
     Differentiating Neural Stem Cells, To understand and control 
     differentiation of neural stem cells with the potential to 
     produce specific cell types for therapeutic transplant in 
     brain trauma, stroke, spinal cord injury, Parkinson's and 
     Alzheimer's disease.
       H. Houbaviy, MicroRNAs MiR-290-295 in Blastocyst-Derived 
     Stem Cells and the Early Mouse Embryo, To understand stem 
     cell development and lineage determination with the goal of 
     expanding and improving knowledge of areas of stem cell 
     biology currently not well understood.
       I. Lemischka, Genome-Wide Functional Analysis of ES Cell 
     fate Regulation, To understand human embryonic stem cell 
     decisions such as survival/death, renewal/determination and 
     to understand how to maintain or induce specific cell fate 
     with the goal of applying this knowledge to patient 
     therapies.
       R. McKinnon, Gliogenic Potential of Human Placental Stem 
     Cells, to identify mechanisms of glial cell generation from 
     human placental cells with the goal of identifying a 
     potential alternative to embryonic stem cells for clinical 
     trials. In collaboration with Celgene, a New Jersey-based 
     biotech firm ranked sixth largest internationally.
       K. Moore, Interactive Mechanisms of Stem Cells and 
     Microenvironments, to further understand the mechanisms of 
     stem cell self-renewal and commitment toward the purpose of 
     developing new therapies or advancing existing therapies for 
     use in drug development and for gene and cell therapy for 
     immunological and other diseases.
       R. Nowakowski, Molecular Circuitry of ``Stemness'' in the 
     Developing CNS, to learn how to reprogram or teach 
     transplanted cells how to generate the right type and number 
     of necessary cells for cell-replacement therapies with the 
     potential for replacing specific brain areas damaged by 
     disease or injury.
       R. Preti, Bone Marrow Derived CD34 Cells for Treatment of 
     Acute Myocardial Infarction, to produce a cell therapy 
     product using bone marrow-derived cells for treatment of 
     coronary damage following a heart attack and advance the 
     company's federal Food and Drug Administration-approved 
     clinical trials with the potential for new and more effective 
     therapy for cardiac patients.
       L. Qin, PTH-Mediated AGFR Signaling in Stromal Stem Cell 
     Growth and Multidifferentiation, to conduct fundamental 
     research using bone marrow stem cells with the potential to 
     develop more effective treatments for low bone mass and 
     similar disorders.
       M. Roth, Selective Gene Delivery to Human Hematopoietic 
     Stem Cells, to apply novel genetic screening approaches to 
     stem cells with the potential of enhancing the ability to use 
     stem cells and gene therapy in many clinical settings, 
     including treating hematopoietic disorders and cancer.
       J. Sadoshima, Mechanisms of Mesenchymal Stem Cell 
     Differentiation, to increase the efficiency of stem cell 
     differentiation into cardiac myocytes by manipulating a 
     particular signaling mechanism with the potential for 
     developing an effective method to repair damaged heart 
     tissues.
       B. Saitta, Role of Extracellular Matrix in Cord Blood Stem 
     Cell Response to Cardiac Injury, to use stem cells derived 
     from umbilical cord blood to study the molecular mechanisms 
     of stem cells in repairing damaged areas of the heart with 
     the potential to heal damaged tissue and preserve or regain 
     function, offering an alternative to transplants which are 
     possible but limited by the number of donors.
       M. Shen, Role of the Nodal signaling pathway in regulation 
     of embryonic pluripotency, to enhance fundamental 
     understanding of basic molecular functions in mice and human 
     stem cells with the potential for improving manipulation of 
     ES cells in culture for use in stem cell-based therapies 
     including possible insights into the genesis and 
     dysregulation of cancer stem cells.
       T. Shenk, Isolation and Characterization of Life-Extended 
     Human Cord Blood Cells, to produce populations of stem cells 
     from human cord blood that can be used to study the molecular 
     characteristics of such cells including how to modulate these 
     growth responses in vivo and in culture with the potential to 
     improve the clinical uses of stem cells.
       Y. Shi, Immunobiology of Mesenchymal Stem Cells, to 
     investigate the mechanisms underlying stem cell mediated 
     immune tolerance and its use in treatment of autoimmune 
     disorders with the potential to lead to new treatment for 
     many human diseases in which the immune system attacks the 
     body, including MS and asthma.
       J. Tischfield, Genetic and Structural Analysis of Mouse ES 
     Cells and their Derivatives, to study cultured ESC and 
     confirm, monitor and regulate phenomena that would be 
     deleterious to tissues derived from stem cells with the 
     potential to prevent problems that could slow development of 
     stem cell therapies.

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