SUBJECT:

Human Stem Cell Research at UCSD

As a follow-up to the Chancellor's message and the recent Union-Tribune article about the proposed San Diego Consortium for Regenerative Medicine, I write to remind all faculty and staff that human stem cell research at UCSD is a closely monitored activity.

UCSD is working with the Office of the President and other UC campuses to finalize guidelines for the conduct of human stem cell research that respond to federal and state requirements, including review by an institutional stem cell board (ESCRO). All projects involving human stem cells must be submitted for review and approval to the ESCRO committee, regardless of whether the research material is de-identified, commercially purchased, available through the NIH Human Embryonic Stem Cell Registry, or available from other sources.

More guidance on the process and requirements for campus review of human stem cell proposals will be released over the next several weeks. In the meantime, if you have any questions, please direct them to ESCRO co-chairs Michael Kalichman (kalichman@ucsd.edu) and Jeffrey Chang (rjchang@ucsd.edu), or Jennifer Oh (jmoh@ucsd.edu) in my office.

Richard Attiyeh Vice Chancellor for Research