Poll on refunding CIRM on eve of informational legislative hearing

Our California stem cell agency, CIRM, started as a baby even before I came to California in 2006 to start my lab here at UC Davis School of Medicine, but now CIRM or to use its full name the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is I’d say a full-grown, mature adult at about age 13 in humans years. Maybe CIRM years don’t go for the 7-year equivalent of dog years to human years, but perhaps 2 or 3 CIRM years to one human year.

I’ve covered the stem cell agency extensively here on The Niche over the last 8+ years. There have been critics and fans of the agency, and everything in between since its inception 13+ years ago, and many have weighed in here on this blog. While some critics used to focus years ago on the agency’s funding of embryonic stem cell research, the agency mostly funds other kinds of research now and its leadership has even been invited to speak at the Vatican the last couple years a few times. Other critics said the equivalent of, “Where’s the clinical trials?”, but with 49 funded clinical trials that issue could pivot now to be a positive that agency supporters can point to as a strength. Still other critics were focused more on economics of whether proposition funding in the billions was a wise investment.

Now that CIRM is in its prime but is poised to potentially run out of funds for new grants in the next year or two, how do you feel about it and would you support refunding it for another 10 years?

This kind of question might be on the mind’s of the California Legislature as it holds a hearing tomorrow on CIRM even though the hearing is not to my knowledge specifically focused on that question.

Take our poll below.