Dr. Martin Madaus, president and chief executive officer of the Millipore Corporation, gave Dr. Jeanne Loring, founding director of The Scripps Research Institute, a $150,000 grant to continue her work in stem cell research. The presentation was part of San Diego’s Bio International Convention. “This is part of our corporate giving program,” Madaus said. “It’s a $150,000 grant to advance her research with no strings attached.” Founded in 1954, Millipore, a company that provides myriad tools to laboratories “” and recently acquired four more companies “”is headquartered in Billerica, Mass. The company describes itself as able to help its pharmaceutical and biotechnology clients optimize their manufacturing productivity to ensure high-quality drugs. The grant is the first the company has awarded to a stem-cell researcher on the West Coast. “It’s still a new field,” Madaus said, explaining different diseases targeted by stem cell research, including Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases. “We need many Dr. Lorings to make this happen.” “San Diego has taken a strong stand in stem cells,” Loring said. Four different institutions leading the way in stem cell research plan to come together at a new building near the Gliderport at Torrey Pines, she said. “There’s plans for a new building with representatives from UCSD, Salk Institute, Scripps and the Burnham Institute for Medical Research, in the spirit of collaboration,” Loring said. This new building will focus on stem cell research. “Part of the idea is to involve companies like Millipore,” Loring said. Researchers said they are searching for a revolution in human health, thanks to stem cells, which can become any type of cell. Loring said she’s focusing on several different diseases, including Parkinson’s, heart disease and failure, Type I diabetes and spinal cord injuries. Researchers are trying to replace cells wherever they have died. Loring said cells lost to diabetes are different than cells lost from Parkinson’s. The Scripps Research Institute team spent time studying all the facets of stem cells to understand the basics, which led to the discovery phase, where they’ve had small breakthroughs, according to Loring. “We’re doing the groundwork right now,” Loring said. “We want to know everything there is to know.” Louise Laurent, a clinician and scientist working alongside Loring, said she began researching stem cells to parallel her work in obstetrics. “Certain mothers are at higher risk. We know there’s higher risk with certain [groups] but we can’t put our finger on why,” Laurent said. “The reason I got into this is that I’d like to treat and diagnose early stages of pregnancy.” Laurent said she studies stem cells specifically to see what can go wrong and to diagnose problems related to those unknown problems in pregnancy. For more information about the The Scripps Research Institute of California, visit www.scripps.edu. For more information about Millipore, go to www.millipore.com.
