Seattle Stem Cells

The University of Washington is in the news again for stem cell research. This time it's for what might happen in the future rather than positive outcomes from previous work. The large $10 million grant is a type of award called a program project grant (PPG in grant lingo) that is split up between several professors (including my advisor) and labs. The idea is that the different groups share resources and engage in collaborative projects bigger and better than a single lab could conduct. An article in the Seattle P-I describes this in more detail, and the Stranger's Dear Science presents a more interesting opinion. The UW was one of two recipients of this grant. Hopefully, by the time most of this money can be spent, a new administration in the White House will have permitted use of embryonic stem cell lines that aren't outdated like those approved August 9, 2001.