CAMDEN, NJ – The Coriell Institute for Medical Research has finalized its agreement for a $10M new grant award from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) and is launching a West Coast repository on March 3 that will house the world's largest collection of induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cell lines.
Coriell already features the most extensive and diverse collection of iPS cell lines available to the international research community – at 83 lines – and will expand the scope of its operation to accommodate 9,000 new iPS cell lines under the provisions of the CIRM initiative. The Institute is tasked with managing sample collection and tracking, storage, and global distribution.
"Our mission statement, as an institution invested in cutting-edge medical science, is to pursue breakthroughs that possess the potential to optimize the healthcare landscape," says Dr. Michael Christman, president and CEO of Coriell Institute. "The iPS cell space continues to grow exponentially and has yielded remarkable results in just a few short years. We are incredibly energized to be partnering with CIRM, an organization devoted to improving health through discovery, as we work toward this common goal."
Identified as a visionary area of scientific interest capable of revolutionizing the way human disease is studied, iPS cell technology has the power to illuminate the disease mechanisms behind conditions such as Alzheimer's and Huntington's disease, and has implications in the development of more precisely targeted therapies. By genetically triggering simple skin and blood cells to transform into any cell in the body, scientists can make insightful observations about the way autism or heart disease functions – from a petri dish.
"The field is moving so fast and is so vastly promising," says Dr. Alan Trounson, President of CIRM. "The success of this program hinges on the ability to efficiently manage this massive resource and distribute these powerful cells to researchers around the globe, which is why Coriell was such an ideal fit for the contract."
In order to meet the requirements of the ambitious undertaking, Coriell is leasing 1,000 newly-renovated square feet at the Buck Institute for Research on Aging in Novato, CA to install a satellite Coriell biobanking facility. The location plans to begin accepting and processing samples March 3.
"As a recognized leader with a distinguished legacy of gold-standard biobanking performance and a proven expertise, we are optimally suited to meet this unique challenge and propel this essential science," says Dr. Steven Madore, Coriell's Director of Biobanking.
About Coriell Institute
Coriell Institute for Medical Research is an independent, non-profit biomedical research center based in Camden, New Jersey. Founded in 1953, the Institute is dedicated to unlocking the genetic code of human disease. Coriell is a pioneer in genomics, examining the utility of genetic information in clinical care through the Coriell Personalized Medicine Collaborative research study (cpmc.coriell.org). The Institute is also exploring the promise of induced pluripotent stem cells – stem cells created from skin or blood – and their role in disease research and drug discovery. Additionally, Coriell continues to be recognized as the world's leading biobank, distributing biological samples and offering custom research and biobanking services to scientists around the globe. For more information, visit www.coriell.org or follow @Coriell_Science on Twitter.
