MEDIA ADVISORY CALIFORNIA INSTITUTE FOR REGENERATIVE MEDICINE HOSTS “SPOTLIGHT ON DISEASE” MEDIA AVAILABILITY Educational Event Designed to Spotlight ALS Disease

LOS ANGELES, CA – The Independent Citizens Oversight Committee (“ICOC”), the governing board
of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (“the Institute”), will hold its next regular meeting
on February 3, 2005 at the Neurosciences Institute, San Diego, CA. The meeting is organized pursuant to
the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act of November 2004.

Preceding the formal ICOC Board Meeting, the Institute will preview its first “Spotlight on Disease”, a public information and educational event for ICOC Board members, the community and local media to discuss the causes, symptoms and potential treatments and cures with stem cell research applications for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, also known as ALS or Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS is a progressive, fatal disease that attacks nerve cells and pathways in the brain and spinal cord causing the body’s motor neurons to waste away. “Spotlight on Disease” will be an ongoing series of public information and education events at future meetings of the ICOC.

The schedule of events is as follows:

9:00 AM – 10:00 AM
“Spotlight on Disease” – Discussion of ALS Disease David Serano Sewell, ICOC Board Member & ALS Patient Advocate Diane Winokur, ALS Association Trustee Jeffrey Rothstein, M.D., PhD, Director, Packard Center for ALS Research, Johns Hopkins University Evan Snyder, M.D., PhD, Director, Program in Developmental and Regenerative Biology, The Burnham Institute Robert Carter, ALS Patient, former Post Master, Del Mar, CA Dr. Lucie Bruijn, Science Director & Vice President, ALS Association Location: The Neurosciences Institute, Theory Center, Fellows Dining Room

10:00 AM – 5:00 PM
Regular Meeting of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee Location: The Neurosciences Institute, Main Auditorium 10640 John Jay Hopkins Drive San Diego, California 92121

Very limited parking is available at the Neurosciences Institute. Credentialed media should RSVP immediately to reserve a parking pass. Public parking is located in surrounding area.

The agenda for the February 3rd meeting is available on the Institute’s website at www.cirm.ca.gov. The agenda will also include an ALS “Spotlight on Disease” presentation by Jeannie Fontana, M.D., PhD, and ALS Association Trustee. Also available on the site are a list of the Institute’s Committees and their membership, as well as information about past and upcoming meetings.

The ICOC is responsible for the oversight and management of the Institute. The Institute was established in 2004 with the passage of 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, was approved by California 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.

 

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                 Julie Buckner
                 Red Gate Communications
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