$1 million CIRM grant allows Berkeley City College to train future stem cell researchers

$1 million CIRM grant allows Berkeley City College
to train future stem cell researchers

BCC to create internships with Oakland’s CHORI, U.C. Berkeley

Berkeley City College (BCC) was awarded a $1,093,500 grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s (CIRM) Bridges Program, Dr. Betty Inclan, president, announced.

“Berkeley City College has an excellent science faculty and bioscience curriculum,” Inclan said. “I was quite confident that with Dr. Barbara Des Rochers writing this grant, we would have an opportunity to involve our biotechnology program in one of the cutting edge areas of scientific research.”

CIRM was established in 2004 with the passage of Prop. 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Act. The statewide ballot measure, which provided $3 billion for stem cell research at California universities and research institutions, was overwhelmingly approved by voters, and established CIRM to make grants and provide loans for stem cell research, research facilities and other research opportunities.

Des Rochers, BCC’s science department co-chair, developed the grant and much of the new curriculum for the college’s Biotechnology Program. BCC’s award was one among seven recent grants that CIRM recommended for funding.

“Over a three-year period, 21 BCC students will have an opportunity to serve in nine-month laboratory internships with Childrens Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI) and U.C. Berkeley,” Des Rochers explained.   “Stem cell research spans the disciplines of molecular biology, bio and material science engineering and integrative biology; interns’ research projects will center on several areas including cancer, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, and regeneration of  human tissues.”

Research efforts at Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland, where several BCC internships will be located, are coordinated through Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI). Children’s Hospital Oakland is Northern California’s only freestanding and independent children’s hospital.  Children’s research arm, CHORI, is internationally renowned in bridging state of the art basic science and clinical research for the treatment and prevention of human disease and is ranked among the top ten research institutes in National Institutes of Health funding to children’s hospitals.

 “Interns will see first hand how researchers and scientists work,” Des Rochers continued.  “At the end of their internships, they will complete advanced training in working with stem cells, and receive a certificate in their specialty.”

The grant also is designed to expose interns to scientific, ethical and legal aspects of stem cell research.  Students will be selected based on completed coursework in BCC biotechnology classes and will receive advanced stem cell training at the University of California, San Francisco.

The college is part of the Peralta Community College District  which serves the communities of Alameda, Albany, Berkeley, Emeryville, Oakland and Piedmont.  The district also includes College of Alameda, Laney College and Merritt College.  In addition to providing two-year programs that prepare students for long-term educational goals, Peralta also offers specialized life-long learning opportunities to Bay Area residents.