University of Connecticut

THE UNIVERSITY OF Connecticut, or UConn, founded in 1881, is the land—grant university for the state of Connecticut. It enrolled over 28,000 students in 2007, including approximately 700 students in medicine or graduate studies conducted at the UConn Medical Center. The main campus is located in Storrs, about 30 miles from Hartford; the UConn Health Center, including the School of Medicine, is located in Farmington, about 10 miles from Hartford. Most stem cell research at UConn takes place at the Center for Regenerative Biology, located on the Storrs campus, and at the UConn Health Center.

The head of the UConn Stem Cell Work Group is Marc Lalande, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Genetics and Development of the UConn Health Center. Lalande also holds the Physicians Health Services Chair in Genetics and Developmental Biology. As of 2007, 25 researchers were affiliated with the UConn Stem Cell Work Group.

The Center for Regenerative Biology is located in a new building (opened in 2004), housing five separate laboratories, which was built as part of a major UConn expansion beginning in 2000. Researchers at the Center for Regenerative Biology come from many different academic departments within UConn. Stem cell research at the UConn Health Center is currently located within existing facilities, but in 2009 it will move to the newly renovated FarmTech building, located adjacent to the Health Center campus; the new facility will include both research labs and space for businesses that want to capitalize on the commercial potential of stem cell science.

Public financing of human stem cell research in Connecticut was authorized in 2005 by the Connecticut General Assembly, which allocated over $100 million to be distributed in grants in the years 2005–15. A five—member Connecticut Stem Cell Peer Review Committee was appointed to review applications for funding with regard to scientific merit and ethical standards and to make recommendations to the State of Connecticut Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee, which makes the final allocation of funds. In the initial allocation of funds ($19.8 million) made in November 2006, over $12 million (60 percent of the total allocation) went to UConn researchers.

The UConn Stem Cell Core was established in April 2006 and is funded by a $2.5 million Core Facility grant from the State of Connecticut Stem Cell Research Program to UConn and Wes—leyan University (a private university located in Middletown, Connecticut). The core is housed at the UConn Health Center and provides services to stem cell researchers at UConn and Wesleyan University, as well as other institutions. Ren—He Xu, M.D., Ph.D., from the Department of Genetics and Developmental Biology at the UConn School of Medicine, is principal investigator of the Stem Cell Core Grant; Laura Grabel, Ph.D., from the Department of Biology at Wesleyan University is coprincipal investigator, and as of 2008, there are six staff members at the core, including two graduate students and two postdoctoral fellows.

The core performs culture, banking, and quality control of nine human embryonic stem cell (hESC) lines, which are available through the core; identification of the lines and their sources is available from the core Web site. Specific aims [Page 580]of the core include culture and banking of currently available hESC lines and usable genetically modified lines, provide training in hESC culture, track and control quality and provide validation of hESC lines, drive new hESC lines from embryos donated from in vitro fertilization clinics, organize workshops relating to stem cell research, and promote stem cell research in Connecticut. The core accepts embryo donations from persons who have completed fertility treatment at the UConn Center for Advanced Reproductive Services; further information is available from the Core Web site.

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