The governing board of California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (Palo Alto, CA
 

The governing board of California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (Palo Alto, CA), the state stem-cell agency, approved the concept for up to $243 million round of funding to move stem cell-based therapies to clinical trial. The funding will support multidisciplinary teams of researchers working toward filing a request with the US Food and Drug Administration to begin clinical trials, or completing an early stage trial, within four years.

Joan Samuelson
 

Our old friend, PAN Founder Joan Samuelson, represents Parkinson's Disease on the CIRM. Since they don't take federal funds, they are not bound by the recent court decision that has recently halted other embryonic stem cell research. Lucky for us that California is independent and ahead of the curve in this area of research.