Stem Cell Agency Governing Board Will Swear in Two New Board Members January 27 Along with Nine Reappointed Members

San Francisco, Calif., January 26, 2011 — The Governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state stem cell agency created by Proposition 71, will swear in two new members and nine members reappointed to second six-year terms at its meeting in Burlingame January 27. Additional members of the 29-person board, the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, include the Chair and Vice Chair, who were both re-elected last month, and 15 members who have two years remaining on eight-year terms.

The new members are:

  • Kristiina Vuori, President of Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, appointed by former Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado;
  • Bertram Lubin, President and CEO of Children’s Hospital and Research Center Oakland, appointed by Controller John Chiang.

Members reappointed are:

  • Duane Roth, CEO of CONNECT, appointed by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger;
  • Shlomo Melmed, Dean of the Medical Faculty at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, appointed by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger;
  • Carmen Puliafito, Dean of the Keck School of Medicine at the University of Southern California, appointed by former Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger;
  • Robert Birgeneau, Chancellor at the University of California, Berkeley, appointed by former Lieutenant Governor Abel Maldonado;
  • Floyd Bloom, Executive Director of Science Communication at The Scripps Research Institute, appointed by Treasurer Bill Lockyer;
  • Michael Freidman, President and CEO of City of Hope, appointed by Treasurer Bill Lockyer;
  • Michael Goldberg, General Partner at Mohr, Davidow ventures, appointed by Treasurer Bill Lockyer;
  • Philip Pizzo, Dean of Stanford University School of Medicine, appointed by Controller John Chiang; and
  • Ted Love, Executive Vice President and Head of Research and Development at Onyx Pharmaceuticals, appointed by Controller John Chiang.

Board Chair and Vice Chairs re-elected December 15, 2010:

  • Chair, Robert Klein, President of Klein Financial Corporation and member of the International Board of the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation;
  • Co-Vice Chair, Senator Art Torres (ret.), member of the Board of the OneLegacy Transplant Donor Network;
  • Co-Vice Chair, Duane Roth, CEO of CONNECT and Chairman and CEO of Alliance Pharmaceutical Corporation.

The two members leaving the board are:

  • William Brody, President of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, who previously served 12 years as President of Johns Hopkins University; and
  • John Reed, CEO of Sanford-Burnham Medical Research Institute, and had served as both President and CEO of the Institute from 2002 through 2010.

Ed Penhoet’s six year term on the board has been extended pending appointment of his replacement by Lieutenant Governor Gavin Newsom. Penhoet is a director at Alta Partners and a board member at the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation.

“The extraordinary commitment required of the remarkable individuals serving on this Board cannot be emphasized enough, and those who have served and continue to serve cannot be thanked enough, said Chairman Klein. “I salute Dr. Reed and Dr. Brody for all that they have contributed to the work of the agency and am honored, along with my fellow Board members, to be joined in service by Dr. Lubin and Dr. Vuori, whose outstanding careers point to the value they will bring to our mission.”

A full list of the stem cell agency board members can be found here:
/board-and-meetings/our-governing-board

About CIRM: CIRM was established in November 2004 with the passage of Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act. The statewide ballot measure, which provided $3 billion in funding for stem cell research at California universities and research institutions, was overwhelmingly approved by voters, and called for the establishment of an entity to make grants and provide loans for stem cell research, research facilities, and other vital research opportunities. A list of grants and loans awarded to date may be seen here: https://www.cirm.ca.gov/for-researchers/researchfunding

Contact:
Don Gibbons
dgibbons@cirm.ca.gov
(415)396-9117