Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Training Program at UCSD II

The call for fellowship applications began June 4, 2013. Seven pre-doctoral students, six postdoctoral scholars, and six clinical fellows were appointed. Five of seven pre-doctoral fellows, four of six postdocs and one of six clinical fellows were newly appointed. The appointment of a new cohort is important because creating new opportunities in each year keeps steady interest among applicants and faculty. The number and quality of pre and postdoctoral applicants is very high, with many MD PhD candidates in the predoctoral pool and many published authors in the postdoc pool. There is wide diversity in the scientific fields represented. The improved pool makes competition for appointments tough. The rigorous educational elements of the program, especially the multi-institutional team-taught Core Course and the hands-on Laboratory Methods course taught in the Human Embryonic Stem Cell Core Facility (HESCCF) have attracted positive notice from faculty, postdocs, and students, and inquiries about future calls for nominations are frequent. Many applicants are applying after having taken the Stem Cell Core Course as graduate students, and many have previous experience with cell culture of hESC or human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC). UCSD CIRM fellows actively participate in a program of special lab courses, didactic courses, research seminars, and journal clubs to present findings, build relationships, hone professionalism, and develop interdisciplinary contacts. The 2012-2013 trainees participated in the core course, building their own scholarly interactions. Continuing an annual event begun in 2008, a multi-institutional retreat was held November, 2012, in the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine (a CIRM Major Facility) to jump start the scholarly interaction among the UCSD trainees and their Consortium colleagues at the Salk, Sanford-Burnham, and Scripps institutions. CIRM UCSD trainees also participated in The CIRM Grantee Meeting held March 6-8, 2013, Stem Cell Meeting on the Mesa VII was held October 31, 2012 during which trainees presented their research. The meeting, as all our training events, integrated topics of ethics, social impact, translational medicine, and interaction with industry. To date, the University of California San Diego CIRM Stem Cell Research & Training grant has provided fellowships to 68 UCSD fellows in 42 different labs in 14 different departments in Engineering, Medicine, and Biological Sciences. Graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and physicians all have received research support, ethics training, and education in stem cell science and regenerative medicine, creating at UCSD, and throughout the world, an innovative, rigorously trained community of stem cell scholars, doctors, and innovators. From Pediatricians to neuroscientists, bioengineers to bioinformatics specialists, the Californians trained in the CIRM UCSD have made significant contributions to our knowledge and our health. Eighteen of our former trainees are practicing physicians, with specialties including maternal/fetal health, heart failure, pediatrics, and oncology. They bring advanced knowledge of stem cell science and ethics to their clinical practices. Some work has helped attract significant federal funding.Some of our early career researchers have attracted private funding to support their work on very difficult and meaningful problems, such as dissecting the role of individual genetic background in sporadic Alzheimer's disease or understanding the role of certain nerve cells in Rett’s Syndrome, an autistic Spectrum disorder. Many trainees remain in Southern California, researching, practicing medicine or contributing at innovative local companies.

In the fifth year of the CIRM UCSD Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Training Grant we continued to develop the pipeline of research excellence to supply California life sciences companies, academic and other medical centers, and investigative teams at research institutes. In an open call for fellowship applications from our top basic science, engineering and medical students, postdocs, and physicians, we selected the most meritorious with different projects from diverse labs. Seven pre-doctoral students, seven postdoctoral scholars, and five clinical fellows were appointed in the 2013-2014 group. Three of seven pre-doctoral fellows, three of seven postdocs and two of five clinical fellows were newly appointed. The CIRM UCSD Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Research and Training Program II holds high prestige and steady interest among applicants and faculty. The quality of pre and postdoctoral applicants is very high, with many MD and PhD candidates in the predoctoral pool and many published authors in the postdoc pool. The improved pool makes stiff competition for appointments. The rigorous educational elements of the program, especially the multi-institutional and team-taught Core Course and the hands-on Laboratory Methods course taught in the Human Embryonic Stem Cell Core Facility (HESCCF) have attracted positive notice from faculty, postdocs, and students. The interdisciplinary focus and insistence on collaborative work has created a good reputation and people frequently inquire about how to apply. Many applicants have already completed the popular Stem Cell Course as graduate students, and many have previous experience with cell culture of hESC or human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC). UCSD CIRM fellows actively participate in a program of special lab courses, didactic courses, research seminars, and journal clubs to present findings, build relationships, hone professionalism, and develop interdisciplinary contacts. The 2013-2014 trainees participated in the core course, building their own scholarly interactions. The Annual, multi-institutional retreat was held November, 2013, in the Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine (a CIRM Major Facility) to inspire scholarly interaction among the UCSD fellows and their Consortium colleagues at the Salk, Sanford-Burnham, and Scripps institutions. CIRM UCSD trainees also participated in the Stem Cell Meeting on the Mesa VIII held October 16, 2013. Current and past UC San Diego CIRM Fellows presented their research on the role of stem cells in liver and colorectal cancer, the generation of replacement beta cells for diabetes therapy, and fundamental processes in the origin of cells of the nervous system. The meeting, as all our training events, integrated topics of ethics, social impact, translational medicine, and interaction with industry. To date, the University of California San Diego CIRM Stem Cell Research & Training grant has provided fellowships to 87 UCSD fellows in 49 different labs in Engineering, Medicine, and Biological Sciences. Graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and physicians all have received research support, ethics training, and education in stem cell science and regenerative medicine, creating at UCSD, and throughout the world, an innovative, rigorously trained community of stem cell scholars, doctors, and innovators. From oncologists to neurosurgeons, cardiac bioengineers to basic scientists, the Californians trained in the CIRM UCSD have made significant contributions to our knowledge and our health. Of the 89 fellows trained in the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Program, 72 remain in the state of California as vital members of our life sciences and medical communities. Twenty-five are physicians, with specialties including neurosurgery, maternal/fetal health, heart failure, pediatrics, and oncology. They bring advanced knowledge of stem cell science and ethics to their clinical practices. Eleven are in industry. Their work continues to help attract significant federal funding, and their superb training allows them to immediately contribute to new scientific projects. Some of our early career researchers have attracted private funding to support their work on very difficult and meaningful problems, such as dissecting the processes of creating blood or understanding the way liver development goes wrong and results in cancer. Many trainees remain in Southern California, researching, practising medicine or contributing at innovative local companies.

In this sixth and last year of the CIRM UC San Diego Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Training Grant II we continued to build up early-career investigators as professional researchers dedicated to enriching California and the world as they work creatively, innovatively, productively and collaboratively on stem cell biology, engineering, and medicine. In an open call for fellowship applications from our top basic science, engineering and medical students, postdocs, and physicians, we selected the most meritorious with different projects from diverse labs. Seven predoctoral students, seven postdoctoral scholars, and five clinical fellows were appointed in the 2014-2015 group. Five of seven pre-doctoral fellows, four of seven postdocs and three of five clinical fellows were newly appointed. The CIRM UCSD Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Research and Training Program II has held high prestige and steady interest among applicants and faculty. The quality of pre and postdoctoral applicants remained high, with many MD and PhD candidates in the predoctoral pool and many published scientific authors in the postdoc pool. The rigorous educational elements of the program, especially the multiinstitutional and team taught Core Course, the stem cell journal club, and the fellows’ retreat attracted positive notice from faculty, postdocs, and students. The interdisciplinary focus and insistence on collaborative work has created a good reputation for CIRM-funded fellows. Many applicants entered having already completed the popular Stem Cell Course as graduate students, and many have previous experience with cell culture of hESC or human induced pluripotent stem cells (hiPSC). UCSD CIRM fellows actively participated in a program of special lab courses, didactic courses, research seminars, and journal clubs to present findings, build relationships, hone professionalism, and develop interdisciplinary contacts. The 2014-2015 trainees participated in the core course, building their own scholarly interactions. The annual multiinstitutional retreat was held in August 2015 at the Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute (formerly, the Sanford Burnham Medical Research Institute) to motivate scholarly interaction among the UCSD fellows and their Consortium colleagues at the Salk, Sanford Burnham Prebys, and Scripps institutions. One fellow reported, “After hearing another fellow’s talk at the CIRM trainee retreat of 2014, I sought collaboration with her to optimize a skeletal muscle differentiation from iPSCs...” CIRM UCSD trainees also participated in the Stem Cell Meeting on the Mesa IX October 9, 2014 and others at the Stem cell Meeting on the Mesa X on October 9, 2015. Current and past UC San Diego CIRM Fellows will present, for example, their research on muscle growth and repair, modeling neural cells in autism, and new ways to find cancer stem cells within a tumor. Just as our CIRM UC San Diego Training Grant fellows do, the Stem Cell Meeting on the Mesa presentations integrated topics of ethics, social impact, translational medicine, and interaction with industry. Many fellows have lauded the program for improving their science communication skills and helping them make scientific connections with other early-career investigators The University of California San Diego CIRM Stem Cell Research & Training grant has provided fellowships to 89 UC San Diego fellows in 49 different labs in Engineering, Medicine, and Biological Sciences. Graduate students, postdoctoral scholars, and physicians all have received research support, ethics training, and education in stem cell science and regenerative medicine, creating at UC San Diego, and throughout the world, an innovative, rigorously trained community of stem cell scholars, doctors, and innovators. From oncologists to neurosurgeons, cardiac bioengineers to basic scientists, the Californians trained in the CIRM UC San Diego Interdisciplinary program have made significant contributions to our knowledge and our health. Of the 89 fellows trained in the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Program, 72 remain in the state of California as vital members of our life sciences and medical communities. Eleven are in industry. Twenty eight are physicians, with specialties including neurosurgery, maternal/fetal health, heart failure, pediatrics, and oncology. They bring advanced knowledge of stem cell science and ethics to their clinical practices. Those remaining in academic work continue to attract significant federal funding, and their superb training allows them to immediately contribute to new scientific projects. Some of our early career researchers have attracted private funding to support their work on very difficult and meaningful problems, such as dissecting the processes of creating blood or understanding the way pancreatic development goes wrong and results in cancer. Many trainees remain in Southern California, researching, practicing medicine or contributing at innovative local companies.