Eleven likely winners of Disease Team awards

Results will soon be announced for the Disease Team Research Awards Competition of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). These awards will support multi-disciplinary teams of scientists in pursuit of therapies for specific diseases. See: The Lucky 11 and $167 Million in Stem Cell Research Cash, David Jensen, California Stem Cell Report, October 23, 2009. First two paragraphs:

The California stem cell agency has pinpointed 11 likely winners of grants and loans up to $20 million each in the agency's ambitious disease team round, which was once projected at $210 million.

The awards are scheduled to be formally approved next week by the CIRM board of directors at a two-day meeting in Los Angeles at the Luxe Hotel. CIRM's Grants Working Group decided earlier that 11 proposals merited funding. The CIRM board almost never rejects a recommendation for funding by its reviewers.

Comment: Participation in the Disease Team Research Awards program is the first initiative launched by the Cancer Stem Cell Consortium (CSCC), in collaboration with CIRM. This is an international collaboration to advance cancer stem cell research, involving both Canadian and Californian scientists. See this previous post: CIRM/CSCC Joint Announcement: Disease Teams Awards, October 23, 2008.

On a shift in focus for CIRM

CIRM Close-Hauled, Seeks Bonds to Sustain Headway by Constance Holden, Science 2009(Mar 27); 323(5922): 1660-1 [PubMed Citation]. Excerpt:

A $210 million, 4-year program of "disease team grants," to be awarded this year, is the centerpiece of this thrust [toward support for translational research]. The program will entail perhaps 10 large grants to teams combining academic and industrial researchers working on a specific stem cell product for, say, Parkinson's disease. .....

Found via: Science Magazine on the State of CIRM, David Jensen, California Stem cell Report, March 27, 2009.

About the California-Canada relationship

San Diego's strong ties to Canada, by Sean Barr and Catriona Jamieson, SignOnSanDiego.com, Union-Tribune Publishing Co., March 19, 2009.

About: "San Diego's strong trade and biotech ties to Canada". Excerpts:

The California-Canada relationship makes sense on many levels. California and Canada have similar-sized populations and economies, and both economies are based on high-tech and innovation. Canada and California share $39 billion in bilateral trade, which supports more than 800,000 California jobs. California is Canada's second-largest market, and the total exports of goods from California to Canada are larger than those from Germany, the United Kingdom, France and Italy combined. ...

.....

The Canadian Consulate has helped foster these growing relationships. Hundreds of Canadian senior executives, research pioneers and government officials have come to San Diego to work with local business and research communities. The Canadian Consulate has organized a number of initiatives designed to facilitate bi-directional science and technology exchanges between San Diego and Canada. One of the newest and most comprehensive programs is the Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership, a program established to oversee and foster collaborations in areas ranging from health care to cancer stem cells to computer networks to environmental change. Last June at the BIO2008 International Convention in San Diego, Canada dedicated $110 million toward a Canada-California Strategic Partnership in Cancer Stem Cells. This collaboration brings together Canada's leading stem cell researchers with those from California, including Moores UCSD Cancer Center and the Burnham Institute.

More on first CCSIP Call for Proposals

The First CCSIP Call for Proposals was blogged on January 6, 2009.

A link to LOI Instructions has now been added to the Programs and Activities page of the website of the Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership (CCSIP). The PDF that's provided is entitled: Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership (CCSIP): Letter of Intent (LOI) Submission Instructions. Excerpt:

Letters of Intent must be submitted by Friday, February 27, 2009 before 2 p.m. Pacific Time/ 5 p.m. Eastern Time. We encourage early submission of LOIs. Please note: LOIs will not be accepted after the deadline.

First CCSIP Call for Proposals

The Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership (CCSIP) has announced, in its News and Publications section, its first Call for Proposals (CFP) for Collaborative Initiatives Between California and Canada [16-page PDF], dated December 23, 2008. A Promotional Summary [3-page PDF] and FAQ Document [5-page PDF] are also available. The 16-page CFP is also available via the websites of ISTPCanada and the University of California Office of the President. An excerpt from the FAQ:

2. What types of proposals are requested under this CFP?

CCSIP is hosting a university-led Call for Proposals for Collaborative Initiatives between Canada and California. The objective of this CFP is to stimulate novel ideas, and catalyze the development of innovative multi–campus and multi–disciplinary research and educational collaborations between the two jurisdictions.

Under this CCSIP CFP, financial support is available for two types of bilateral initiatives, including the:

• Conduct of focused bilateral round tables, workshops and/or symposia that lead to novel methods or approaches for collaborative research. These proposals should request $15,000 to $50,000 in total funding².

[Footnote 2: Includes funds from both Canadian and Californian sponsors]

• Development and delivery of a detailed R&D business plans for early-stage bilateral initiatives that help to propel the concept to the next stage of development (following the conduct of workshops and associated research). These proposals should request about $100,000 in total funding.

Excerpts from the Promotional Summary:

Eligibility:

Each proposal must include a Principal Investigator (PI) from a participating Canadian university¹, and a PI from the University of California system.

[Footnote 1: A current list of participating Canadian universities may be found in Appendix A of the CFP document]

[Some paragraphs omitted, including a section on Type of Proposals Requested]

Focus of Proposals:

Bilateral university research teams are encouraged to put forward short proposals for collaborative initiatives that aim to address key priorities shared by California and Canada, capitalize on the complementary strengths of both jurisdictions and emphasize delivery to the market place.

[Some paragraphs omitted, including sections on Selection Criteria, Specifications for Letters of Intent and Complete Proposals, and Evaluation Process]

Deadlines:

• Letters of Intent: February 27, 2009; 2PM PST, UCOP and ISTPCanada will announce all selected Letters on March 16, 2009
• Requested Proposals: May 1, 2009, 2PM PST
• Funding Decisions: The CCSIP Steering Committee, together with UCOP and ISTPCanada, expect to announce funding for all successful bilateral initiatives by July 1, 2009

[Some additional paragraphs omitted, including sections on How to Apply and Additional Information]

Note that, in the Areas of Focus section of the CCSIP website, the first topic listed under Specific RD&D Project Areas is: Cancer Stem Cells.

A relevant previous post is: News release from CCISP, December 13, 2008.

Thanks to Cindy Bell for information about the first CCSIP Call for Proposals.

News release from CCISP

News from the Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership (CCSIP): The Canada-California Strategic Innovation Partnership (CCSIP) Launches First Call for Proposals with ISTPCanada and the University of California, December 10, 2008 [PDF]. Excerpt:

The CFP will be managed by International Science and Technology Partnerships Canada Inc. (ISTPCanada) and the University of California Office of the President (UCOP). It will invite innovators from academia, industry and government to propose bilateral approaches that build on Canada-California complementary strengths, address common challenges and recommend novel solutions with strong commercialization potential in areas such as: Carbon Capture and Sequestration, Green IT, Infectious Diseases, Next-Generation Digital Media and Sustainable Biofuels.

The CCSIP Steering Committee will select the winning proposals by spring 2009. The Committee aims to recommend funding for a minimum of six strategic round tables, workshops or other activities that enable the development of bilateral proposals; and six detailed business plans that could be presented to potential investors. As per previous CCSIP-stimulated initiatives, the outcomes of these projects are expected to attract investment from public and private funders. For example, the Cancer Stem Cell Consortium, a concept initially proposed at the inaugural CCSIP Summit in January 2006, garnered a $100 million commitment from Canada earlier this year.

Comment: Note that the CSCC is mentioned in the second of the paragraphs excerpted above (but not the first). Might this call for proposals (CFP) by the CCSIP include consideration of CSCC-related "bilateral approaches" that "build on Canada-California complementary strengths, address common challenges and recommend novel solutions with strong commercialization potential"? Please stay tuned.