UCLA to get $20-million gift for stem cell research

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UCLA to get $20-million gift for stem cell research

Philanthropist Eli Broad will announce the funding, which will be

for use with both embryonic and adult stem cell lines.

By Ornstein, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-stem10sep10,1,301161.story

Philanthropist Eli Broad is set to announce a $20-million donation

today to UCLA for stem cell research, the latest in a series of

large gifts that position California universities at the forefront

of the promising scientific field.

The gift from the Eli and Edythe Broad Foundation will be used to

buy laboratory equipment, provide research grants and endow

professorships. In turn, UCLA will change the name of its Institute

for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine to the Eli and Edythe Broad

Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research.

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Broad will announce the donation at UCLA this morning, joined by

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, L.A. Mayor Villaraigosa and

school officials.

This is Broad's second major gift involving stem cell research,

having already donated $25 million to USC in February 2006 to build

a stem cell research building on its medical school campus.

Embryonic stem cell research has taken off in California following

voter approval in 2004 of Proposition 71, an initiative that will

allocate $3 billion to search for treatments for Parkinson's

disease, diabetes and other debilitating and fatal conditions.

" California, in my mind, will without a doubt be the leader in North

American stem cell research as a result of Proposition 71 and the

great research universities we have, " Broad said in an interview

Sunday.

Broad said he hoped USC and UCLA would collaborate on projects, but

added that both universities must have the resources to begin their

own research. He did not rule out future donations for stem cell

initiatives, saying, " We may do more as time goes on, depending on

the need. "

Dr. Owen Witte, director of UCLA's stem cell institute, said UCLA

had done well competing for grants, but Broad's donation would allow

the university to go further.

" This is huge in many senses of the word, " he said. " In addition to

the amount of money being quite wonderful, it's flexible money to

spend on what we think are the most important things when we need

them. That's very hard to anticipate coming from any other funding

source. "

Broad's gift to UCLA will fund research into both embryonic and

adult stem cells, the latter being less controversial.

Supporters believe embryonic stem cells are promising because they

can be grown into any type of cell in the body.

Opponents say such research effectively destroys human life because

the cells are derived from human embryos created during in vitro

fertilization treatments.

In 2001, President Bush restricted federal funding to a small number

of embryonic stem cell lines, saying he had moral concerns about the

destruction of embryos. Bush's decision prompted advocates in

California to draft Proposition 71, officially known as the

California Stem Cell Research and Cures act.

Early obstacles facing the state's effort have been lifted this year.

In May, the California Supreme Court turned aside a legal challenge

to Proposition 71's constitutionality, clearing the way for the

state to issue bonds to fund the research. Before then, the

California Institute for Regenerative Medicine relied on loans from

the state general fund and philanthropists to make an initial round

of grants to scientists.

California universities have landed large donations to build new

labs and begin their research. In May 2006, UC San Francisco

received a $16-million donation. Two months later, UC Irvine landed

a $10-million gift from Newport Beach fund manager Bill Gross and

his wife, Sue. Stanford University has received gifts of $20 million

and $33 million for research and construction.

State treasurer Bill Lockyer's office has set Sept. 27 as the date

for the first offering of bonds to finance the research -- $250

million in taxable general obligation bonds. Proceeds from the first

bond sale will be used to repay loans.

Despite the competition for funding and grants among California

universities, UCLA's Witte said there was plenty of stem cell

research to go around. " The question is so complex that having lots

of good people work on it is perfectly fine. "