CIRM Awards $67.5 Million to Address Neuropsychiatric Diseases through its ReMIND Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Koren Temple-Perry
Sr. Director, Marketing & Communications
press@cirm.ca.gov
South San Francisco, CA, August 30, 2024 – The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, one of the world’s largest institutes dedicated to regenerative medicine, approved $67.5 million to support five projects in the Agency’s pilot ReMIND (Research using Multidisciplinary, Innovative Approaches in Neuro Diseases) Program.
ReMIND is a new initiative designed to accelerate the discovery of mechanisms underlying neuropsychiatric disorders leading to the identification and validation of novel targets and biomarkers. The goal is to provide new avenues and rigorous foundations for future translational and clinical investigations. To achieve this, the ReMIND Program will catalyze innovative, cross-disciplinary collaborations and support broad knowledge-sharing among research scientists and other stakeholders.
The program includes two distinct and separate funding opportunities. The awards correspond to the first, DISC4/ReMIND-L that has been designed to support large collaborative multidisciplinary projects cross-disciplinary, and integrated studies led by large collaborative teams applying a range of technologies and approaches. Five ReMIND-L awards were approved at CIRM’s August Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee (ICOC) meeting:
| Application # | Program Title | Principal Investigator/Institution | Amount |
| DISC4-16295 | Translational epigenomics: dissecting cell type-specific function of neuropsychiatric risk genes in vivo | Jin, Xin — Scripps Research | $11,376,314 |
| DISC4-16285 | Deep phenotyping of human brain organoid models of autism spectrum disorder to unravel disease heterogeneity and develop biomarkers and treatments | Pollen, Alex — UCSF | $12,297,272 |
| DISC4-16377 | Modeling the genetic basis of psychopathology in schizophrenia and autism | Sebat, Jonathan — UCSD | $12,703,708 |
| DISC4-16322 | CIRM Center for Neuropsychiatric Stem Cell Proteomics | Nowakowski, Tomasz — UCSF | $13,781,522 |
| DISC4-16292 | Multiomic Studies of Idiopathic Intellectual Disability and Autism Spectrum Disorder (ID/ASD) | Lipton, Stuart A — Scripps Research | $17,365,387 |
$12 Million Awarded to Uncover Genetic Pathways in Autism
A $12 million award to a team of investigators led by Alex Pollen, PhD, Associate Professor of Neurology at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) will enable collaboration between various QB3 investigators across several institutions including David Schaffer, PhD, and Helen Bateup, PhD, from the UC Berkeley; Martin Kampmann, PhD, Saul Kato, PhD, and Elliott Sherr, PhD, at UCSF; and Mo Mostajo-Radji, PhD, Sofie Salama, PhD, and Mircea Teodorescu, PhD, at UC Santa Cruz.
The research team will uncover pathways through which autism spectrum disorder (ASD) mutations cause disease. The project will create 3D brain models in the lab to understand how different factors contribute to ASD and why certain populations are protected from developing the condition. By leveraging advanced AI to analyze clinical data, the research team will identify novel genetic modifiers and biomarkers associated with ASD.
“Our QB3 team of investigators across UCSF, UC Berkeley, and UC Santa Cruz will combine clinical data, 3D brain organoid models, analysis of genetic risk factors, genome engineering screens, and advanced AI tools to find common pathways, protective factors, and biomarkers for different forms of autism. This project could greatly advance our understanding of autism and lay the groundwork for new treatments,” said Dr. Pollen.
This research comes at a time when more than 1 in 22 children in California are diagnosed with autism, a neurological and developmental disorder that affects how people interact with others, communicate, learn, and behave.
“The project addresses a critical bottleneck in ASD research,” said Rosa Canet-Aviles, PhD, VP of Scientific Programs and Education at CIRM. “By uncovering the genetic underpinnings and developing new diagnostic tools, this project could pave the way for more precise and effective interventions, offering hope to countless families affected by ASD.”
About the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)
At CIRM, we never forget that we were created by the people of California to accelerate stem cell treatments to patients with unmet medical needs, and act with a sense of urgency to succeed in that mission. To meet this challenge, our team of highly trained and experienced professionals actively partners with both academia and industry in a hands-on, entrepreneurial environment to fast track the development of today’s most promising stem cell technologies.
With $5.5 billion in funding and more than 150 active stem cell programs in our portfolio, CIRM is one of the world’s largest institutions dedicated to helping people by bringing the future of cellular medicine closer to reality.