Stem cell labs get first taste of NY's $600M program

Looking to boost New York's reputation as a thriving center of scientific research, Gov. Eliot Spitzer has handed out the first series of grants from a new $600 million fund designed to support stem cell research programs. Some 25 institutions divvied up the money, including Cornell, Columbia University Medical Center and Memorial Sloan Kettering Institute for Cancer Research. The money will keep New York "at the forefront of research arenas," Spitzer told reporters. It will also keep the state at the forefront of the debate over ESCs as it becomes another big state supporter of the field, second only to California. Another round of grant money will be issued later this year.

- see this release
- read the report from the White Plains Journal

ALSO: California is backing research projects outlined by "disease teams" drawn from academia and biotech companies. Report

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