Research

New Jersey Commission Science and Technology Grants

UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey scientists garnered ten of 17 New Jersey Commission on Science and Technology (NJCST) grants for continued study of stem cell research.

The grants establish New Jersey as the first state to publicly fund human embryonic stem cell research. The funding, while distributed among individual investigators working on a variety of projects within their own laboratories, nevertheless draws attention to the Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey, a Robert Wood Johnson Medical School and Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey initiative.

		Rick Cohen, PhD, Rutgers University assistant research professor at the Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, received funding to provide a centralized New Jersey location for basic and advanced training in the field of human embryonic stem cell biology.
		Ronald Hart, PhD, Rutgers University professor at the Keck Center for Collaborative Neuroscience, received funding for work to understand and control differentiation of neural stem cells with the potential to produce specific cell types for use in treating brain trauma, stroke, spinal cord injury, Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease.
		Hristo Houbaviy, PhD, Rutgers University assistant research professor of genetics, received funding to explore stem cell development with the goal of expanding knowledge of areas of stem cell biology currently not well understood.
		Randall McKinnon, PhD, UMDNJ- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School associate professor of surgery. Dr. McKinnon is collaborating with Celgene, a New Jersey biotech firm, in studying human placental cells with the goal of identifying a potential alternative to embryonic stem cells for clinical trials.
		Richard Nowakowski, PhD, UMDNJ- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School professor of neuroscience and cell biology, is focusing on reprogramming transplanted cells for cell replacement therapies with potential for replacing specific brain areas damaged by disease.
		Lin Qin, PhD, UMDNJ- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School instructor of physiology and biophysics, conducts research using bone marrow stem cells to develop effective treatments for low bone mass and similar disorders.
		Monica Roth, PhD, UMDNJ-Robert Wood Johnson Medical Sch00l professor of biochemistry, hopes to enhance the ability to use stem cells and gene therapy in clinical settings by applying novel genetic screening methods to the cells.
		Michael Shen, PhD, UMDNJ- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School professor of pediatrics, is involved in advancing the fundamental understanding of basic molecular functions in mice and human stem cells, with potential for stem cell based therapies that include insights about the genesis of cancer stem cells.
		Yufang Shi, DVM, PhD, UMDNJ- Robert Wood Johnson Medical School professor of molecular genetics, microbiology and immunology at RWJMS, is investigating stem cells with relation to the treatment of autoimmune disorders.
		Jay Tischfield, PhD, Rutgers University professor of genetics and head of the Rutgers Cell and DNA Repository, received funding to study Mouse ES cells and their derivatives with the goal of preventing problems that could slow development of stem cell therapies.