The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is accelerating the development of new therapies for chronic disease and injury by funding stem cell research programs throughout California. We were established in 2004 after Californians passed Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative. The statewide ballot measure, which provided $3 billion in funding for stem cell research at California universities and research institutions, called for the establishment of a new state agency to make grants and provide loans for stem cell research, research facilities and other vital research opportunities. The mission of CIRM is to support and advance stem cell research and regenerative medicine under the highest ethical and medical standards for the discovery and development of cures, therapies, diagnostics and research technologies to relieve human suffering from chronic disease and injury.