University of California, Berkeley

Fostering Research

Berkeley has been a leader among American universities in fostering stem cell research—a process facilitated by the university's location within California, one of the first states to devote public funds to support stem cell research. Although the field of stem cell research dates back to 1998, when James Thomson at the University of Wisconsin derived the first embryonic stem cell line, progress in this field has been slowed because of political considerations that have made the U.S. federal government reluctant to grant monies to support stem cell research. However, stem cell research within California has been greatly facilitated by the bond initiative Proposition 71, approved by California voters in November 2004, which allocated $3 billion to fund research into human embryonic stem cells and their medical applications. Proposition 71 is the largest state—supported scientific research program in the United States, as well as the best—funded stem cell research program in the country.

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), established through passage of Proposition 71, is a California state agency that reviews proposals from California—based research institutions and awards grants from the Proposition 71 funds. The money disbursed comes from two sources: the sale of public bonds and private donations from individuals such as Microsoft founder Bill Gates, eBay founder Pierre Omidyar, and real estate developer Robert Klein II. In addition to the quantity of funds available (CIRM will distribute grants of $300 million per year for 10 years), the California initiative is significant because it carries fewer restrictions than many other sources of research funding. For instance, federal funding at the time of Proposition 71's passage restricted researchers to the use of adult stem cells and a few lines of already—existing embryonic stem cells (which many scientists feel are unsuitable and insufficient for serious research), whereas the California initiative has no such restrictions and allows cloning of stem cells for research purposes. Proposition 71 is also significant for the positive public attention it garnered for stem cell research: Many prominent individuals with personal connections to diseases that may be ameliorated through stem cell research spoke in favor of the bill, including Nancy Reagan (widow of former president Ronald Reagan, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease), actor Michael J. Fox (who suffers from Parkinson's disease), and actor Christopher Reeve (who was paralyzed as a result of spinal cord injury following a riding accident).

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