California's stem cell institute will meet in San Diego this week. The board members are expected to approve up to $30 million in grants to study how stem cell therapies can overcome immune resistance.
With stem cell therapy stem cells are transplanted into a sick person's body so those cells can develop and replace diseased tissues. But patients' immune systems will reject the stem cells unless they are the patient's own or a very close match.
That's why the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine will consider funding stem cell immunology projects when its board meets in San Diego this week.
The institute, known by the acronym CIRM, is based in San Francisco but it rotates board meetings between the Bay Area, LA and San Diego.
Researchers from UCSD and the Salk Institute will make a presentation Wednesday morning about their research into stem cell therapy for Lou Gehrig's disease.
