I fear that 2025 is ending with a tragic irony: the dismantling of progress in biomedical research, as infectious diseases return and resurge. Arrogance and ignorance are proving to be more dangerous pathogens than bacteria and viruses.
So I thought I'd close out the year with an uplifting look at a funding source not threatened by the current administration: the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, aka CIRM.
Two Decades of Funding Research, Needed More Now Than Ever
CIRM was born 20 years ago, when 59 percent of California voters approved Proposition 71, and reaffirmed it in 2020. Since then, the taxpayer-supported organization has provided more than 1400 grants, totaling nearly $4 billion.
Grants support all stops on the journey from initial idea to delivering a new treatment. That means funding basic research at universities and supporting education, collaboration, scientific and medical meetings, as well as manufacturing facilities, clinics, hospitals, and community outreach programs.
To continue reading, go to DNA Science, where this post first appeared.