Effective October 1, 2014, the authority for administration of the Stem Cell Research Program transferred to Connecticut Innovations. A link to the Connecticut Innovations webpage is provided: http://www.ctinnovations.com/program/18/stemcellresearch
Connecticut General Statutes §19a-32d through §19a-32g mandated the establishment of the Connecticut Stem Cell Research Advisory and Peer Review Committees by October 1, 2005.
The Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee was originally made up of nine members. By statute, the Advisory Committee is chaired by the Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Public Health (DPH). Other members of the committee are appointed by the Governor and by various leaders of the General Assembly from the fields of stem cell research, stem cell investigators, bioethics, embryology, genetics, cellular biology and business. Committee members commit to a two-year or four-year term of service. Public Act 06-33 amended the original law and mandates the appointment of an additional eight members by July 1, 2006.
Responsibilities of the Advisory Committee include the development and oversight of the stem cell research grants-in-aid program, the development of a donated funds program to encourage the development of funds other than state appropriations for embryonic and human adult stem cell research, and the promotion of for-profit and not-for-profit stem cell and related research in the State. The Advisory Committee is also responsible to report annually to the Governor and General Assembly on (1) the amount of grants-in-aid awarded to eligible institutions, (2) the recipients of such grants-in-aid, and (3) the current status of stem cell research in the state.
The legislation established a Stem Cell Research Peer Review Committee originally consisting of five members with demonstrated and practical knowledge, understanding and experience of the ethical and scientific implications of embryonic and adult stem cell research. Public Act 07-252 allows the DPH Commissioner to appoint additional members as deemed necessary for the review of applications, provided the total number does not exceed fifteen. The DPH Commissioner appoints all committee members for either two or four-year terms. In consideration of potential conflict of interest concerns, all members appointed are from out of state, and four of the members to date are international researchers. The Peer Review Committee reviews all grant applications for scientific and ethical merit, guided by the National Acadamies “Guidelines for Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research.” The Peer Review Committee makes its recommendations on grant recipients to the Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee.
Stem Cell Research Advisory Committee
Member |
Affiliation |
Jewel Mullen, M.D., M.P.H., M.P.A. Chair |
Commissioner CT Department of Public Health 410 Capitol Avenue P.O. Box 340308 Hartford, CT 06134-0308
|
Treena Livingston Arinzeh, Ph.D. |
Associate Professor Department of Biomedical Engineering New Jersey Institute of Technology University Heights 614 Fenster Hall Newark, NJ 07102-1982
|
Richard H. Dees, Ph.D. |
Associate Professor of Philosophy University of Rochester Rochester, NY 04627-8110
|
Sandra Engle, Ph.D. |
Pluripotent Stem Cell & Molecular Biology Lab PDM-NCE Primary Pharmacology Group Pfizer Inc Eastern Point Road Mail location MS 220-4340 Groton, CT 06340
|
Gerald Fishbone, M.D. |
Hospital of St. Raphael New Haven, CT Professor Emeritus of Pediatrics Child Health Research Center |
|
|
David Goldhamer, Ph.D
Robert Grosso |
Professor Director, Center for Regenerative Biology Dept. of Molecular and Cell Biology University of Connecticut 1392 Storrs Road Storrs, CT 06269-4243
Principal Owner, Advanced Clinical Perspectives, LLC 39 Farm Rd Bethany, CT 06524 |
Ronald P. Hart, Ph.D. |
Professor Cell Biology and Neuroscience W.M. Keck Center for Collaboration Rutgers University Piscataway, NJ 08854
|
Christopher Heinen, Ph.D.
James J. Hughes, Ph.D. |
Associate Professor, UConn Health Center Farmington, CT
Director, Institutional Research and Planning Trinity College 300 Summit Street Hartford, CT 06106
|
Ann Kiessling, Ph.D. |
Harvard Institutes of Medicine 4 Blackfan Circle, Room 248 Boston, MA 02115
|
Diane Krause, M.D., Ph.D. |
Professor of Laboratory Medicine, Pathology and Cell Biology Yale Laboratory Medicine Yale-New Haven Hospital 20 York Street Park Street 3B New Haven, CT 06510 |
Paul Pescatello, Ph.D., J.D. |
Executive Committee, Board of Directors Chair, BioScience Growth Council CURE 350 Church Street
|
Milton B. Wallack, DDS |
295 Washington Avenue Hamden, CT 06518
|
Stem Cell Research Peer Review Committee
|