Stem Cell Funding in Connecticut

Stem Cell Funding in Connecticut

The Hartford Courant reported this morning that an advisory panel has decided that scientists working with hESCs that are ineligible for federal funding should get the first share of $20 million in state funding for stem cell research. The committee also decided to consider proposals from individual scientists and not just from universities. There is $100 million in funding to be distributed over the next 10 years; the first grants will be awarded later this year. Scientists who do stem cell research in animals will be able to apply, but they will not receive priority.

The article does not come out and say so, but it appears to me that the money is essentially intended to fill the gap left by the lack of federal funding for embryonic stem cell research. The story quoted the state health commissioner as saying, “This was clearly not intended to be a global source of funds for research.”

Not everyone was please by the news, and there is some confusion still about what the funds can be applied for in terms of hiring or construction of research facilities.