CSUSB receives $1.1 million grant to train students for jobs in stem cell research

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SAN BERNARDINO, Calif. - Cal State San Bernardino has been awarded $1.1 million to provide six-month internships to train up to 10 students to become researchers and technicians for the growing stem cell industry.

"I'm delighted. Santa Claus has come early to our department," said CSUSB biology professor Nicole Bournias-Vardiabasis, who is the grant director. "We now have the opportunity to create a pipeline for our students to pursue advanced degrees and ultimately find jobs in the stem cell industry."

The three-year grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is part of a cumulative award of $4 million in Bridges to Stem Cell Research funding that also includes two other California State University campuses, Fullerton and Northridge. The grant follows a previous award to 11 other CSU campuses that provided nearly $16 million for stem-cell research, brings the total award to the $20 million for the university system.

"These research internships are invaluable experiences, allowing students to prove their abilities and prepare for the workforce or graduate school," said Susan Baxter, executive director of the CSU Program for Education and Research in Biotechnology.

The CIRM Bridges funding also allows current certificate, degree programs and general education courses to incorporate the latest stem cell science and technology, benefiting hundreds of students. Existing CSU campus programs provide hands-on stem cell training in both academic and industrial research settings.

Under the grant, Cal State San Bernardino will work with San Bernardino Valley College and Riverside Community College's Moreno Valley campus with the goal of identifying and increasing the number of students going into the stem cell industry as researchers or technicians, said Jeffrey Thompson, CSUSB's associate provost for research and co-director of the CSUSB Stem Cell Research Program along with Bournias-Vardiabasis.

CSUSB will work with the two community colleges to identify students interested and eligible to become interns for the stem cell research program, and ultimately transfer to the university or obtain associate of arts degree and enter the job market in the stem cell industry. Both community colleges will add modules pertinent to stem cell research to their existing cell and molecular biology courses. Successful completion of the course by biology majors will allow these students to apply for a stem cell research internship.

At Cal State San Bernardino, the biology department will develop a new upper division course on cell culture with an introduction into stem cell research, Thompson said. In addition, a module discussing stem cell research will be developed for the general education biology 100 course that will reach hundreds of students each year. UCR will also add an intensive one-week course that will offer hands-on laboratory experience required for students in the internship program must take.

The interns will then be placed for six months at one of three sites with extensive stem cell research laboratories: UCR, the City of Hope Medical Center in Duarte and the Millipore Corp. in Temecula. The sites will offer the interns a variety of research experiences and operations in three different settings: a public university, a private research institute and a private company.

In the program's first year, one student will be recruited from each of the two community colleges, two undergraduates and two graduate students from CSUSB. In years two and three, the program will recruit two students from each of the community colleges, four undergraduate and two graduate students from CSUSB. All the students must complete general chemistry and general biology courses before moving to the internship programs, Thompson said.

For more information, contact the university's Office of Public Affairs at (909) 537-5007 and visit news.csusb.edu.

al State San Bernardino has been awarded $1.1 million to provide six-month internships to train up to 10 students to become researchers and technicians for the growing stem cell industry.