Year 4

The CIRM Center of Excellence in Stem Cell Genomics (CESCG) at The Salk Institute for Biological Studies is functioning as a nodal hub for collaborative research in the field of Stem cell Biology. At the CESCG we provide our expertise in computational analysis of high-throughput sequencing data as well as provide the services of the high-end sequencers. Projects funded from this award focus on various aspects of understanding basic Biology (uncovering molecular mechanisms) and are aimed at applications to human health and disease.
The first batch of Salk CESCG collaborators selected for the Collaborative Research Projects (CRPs) included three groups from UCLA and one from UCSD. The comprehensive CRP grant has been awarded to the Crooks group at UCLA. The three other groups (Fan and Bruneau groups from UCLA) and Frazer group at UCSD have been awarded the regular CRP grants. The Salk CESCG staff continue to collaborate with these four groups.
The second batch of Salk CESCG collaborators selected for the Collaborative Research Projects (CRPs) include two groups from The Salk Institute for Biological Studies and one from UCSD. The awarded groups (Izpisua Belmonte and Jones groups from The Salk Institute, and Chi group at UCSD) have been awarded the regular CRP grants. The Salk CESCG staff continue to collaborate with these three groups.
The CESCG staff are also in contact with the Data Coordination and Management (DCM) center.
Center Initiated Project 4 (CIP4) continues its work developing a suite of bioinformatics tools and resources for advanced analysis of ‘omics data generated by the CIRM Genome Center, with the goals of formulating molecular network models and for guiding predictions of cell fate. The primary tools, which are general, will be developed and applied together with investigators from the other center-initiated and collaborative projects.