One of the goals of the Tri-SCI is to provide funding to support tri-or bi-campus collaborative research grants in stem cell biology. Beginning in 2006 an annual RFA was issued, seeking applications from Tri-Institutional faculty for a broad range of stem cell research projects, including studies of human embryonic stem cells (both those registered by the federal government and those that are not) adult, fetal, and cancer stem cells, as well as stem cells studied in model systems.
The Tri-SCI completed its 3rd round of research grant awards in 2008 and 12 projects were funded, bringing the total to 44 since 2006. As in the past, the Tri-SCI specifically sought grant applications that were highly collaborative, new research projects in stem cell biology, involving faculty from at least two of the three institutions. A panel of senior scientists conducted a rigorous review of the submitted proposals and recommendations were presented to the Tri-SCI Executive Committee for final funding decisions.
Tri-SCI-funded projects - 2008
| PI | Co-PI(s) | Co-Investigator(s) | Title | Lead Institution |
| Stewart Anderson | Lorenz Studer (MSKCC) Theodore Schwartz (WCMC) |
Song-Hai Shi (MSKCC) | Developing a cell-based therapy for intractable seizures of the cerebral cortex | WCMC |
| Anthony Brown | Ali Brivanlou (Rockefeller) |
P. Jallepalli (MSKCC) | Monitoring self-renewal in induced pluripotent cells and cancer stem cells | WCMC |
| Elaine Fuchs | Mark. Rosenblatt (WCMC) | Translating stem cell self-renewal principles to regenerative medicine | Rockefeller | |
| A. K. Hadjantonakis | R. Gosden (WCMC) | Factors determining the segregation of primitive endoderm and pluripotent epiblast lineages in mammalian development | MSKCC | |
| Samie Jaffrey | Zev Rosenwaks (WCMC) | David Allis (Rockefeller) | Using stem cells to delineate the role of small RNAs in epigenetic reprogramming in fragile X | WCMC |
| Alexandra Joyner | M. Tomic-Canic (WCMC) | Lineage mapping of skin stem cells in homeostatis and wound healing | MSKCC | |
| Shahin Rafii | David Allis (Rockefeller) | John Greally (Albert Einstein) | Epigenetic conversion of unipotent germline cells into multipotent stem cells | WCMC |
| Michel Sadelain | Lorenz Studer (MSKCC) | Pat Giardina/C. Henchcliffe (WCMC) C. Henchcliffe |
Improved strategies to generate human iPS cells for disease modeling and cell therapy | MSKCC |
| Chris Sander | Lorenz Studer (MSKCC) |
Thomas Tuschl (Rockefeller) |
The role of miRNA in early neural stem cell differentiation | MSKCC |
| Sidney Strickland | Lorenz Studer (MSKCC) | Human embryonic stem cell-based treatment of peripheral nerve dysfunction | Rockefeller | |
| Lorenz Studer | Neil Harrison (WCMC) | Neural crest specification and modeling of familial dysuatonomia in hESCs and HiPSCs | MSKCC | |
| Lorenz Studer | Viviane Tabar (MSKCC) | Neeta Roy Neil Harrison (WCMC) |
Intrinsin and extrinsic fate determinants in midbrain DA neuron specification from human ESCs | MSKCC |
*MSKCC= Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Rockefeller = The Rockefeller University; WCMC = Weill Cornell Medical College
Tri-SCI-funded projects - 2007
| PI | Co-PI(s) | Co-Investigator(s) | Title | Lead Institution |
| David Allis | Dinshaw Patel (MSKCC) | Mechanisms underlying the resolution of a ES cell-specific epigenetic code: functional and structural analyses | Rockefeller | |
| Arleen Auerbach | Zev Rosenwaks (WCMC) | Derivation of human embryonic stem cells from Fanconi anemia embryos | Rockefeller | |
| Tarun Kapoor | Derek Tan (MSKCC) | Chemical biology of stem cell differentiation | Rockefeller | |
| Lorraine Gudas | Robert Benezra (MSKCC) | Regulation of embryonic stem cell proliferation and differentiation by Id1 and retinoids | WCMC | |
| Lorenz Studer | Hakim Djaballah (MSKCC) Ali Brivanlou (Rockefeller) |
High throughput chemical screen in human embryonic stem cells | MSKCC | |
| Ali Brivanlou | Derek Tan (MSKCC) Tarun Kapoor (Rockefeller) |
Chemical screen of small compounds involved in maintenance of pluripotency in human embryonic stem cells | Rockefeller | |
| Lorenz Studer | Shiaoching Gong (Rockefeller) | Genetic and functional characterization of an early hESC-derived neural stem cell stage | MSKCC | |
| John Boockvar | Eric Holland (MSKCC) | EGFR signaling and adult and tumor-derived neural stem cell behavior | WCMC | |
| Viviane Tabar | Lorenz Studer (MSKCC) Neal Harrison (WCMC) |
Human ES cell-derived motoneurons for transplantation in ALS animal models | MSKCC | |
| Elizabeth Lacy | David Lyden (WCMC) | Nuclear pore complex composition as a regulator of stem and progenitor cell differentiation | MSKCC | |
| Heidi Stuhlmann | Lorenz Studer (MSKCC) | EGF-like domain 7 (Egf17) and endothelial stem/progenitor populations | WCMC | |
| Elaine Fuchs | Richard Granstein (WCMC) Chris Sander (MSKCC) |
Glandular epithelial stem cells | Rockefeller | |
| Stephen Nimer | David Allis (Rockefeller) | Comparative analysis and therapeutic manipulation of epigenetic marks on the key regulators for normal and leukemic stem cells | MSKCC | |
| Malcolm Moore | Pengbo Zhou (WCMC) | Derivation of hemangioblasts and hematopoietic stem cells from human embryonic stem cell lines | MSKCC | |
| Ana Milosevic | Eric Holland (MSKCC) | Polysome expression profiling and targeting of the stem cells in PDGF-induced glioblastoma | Rockefeller |
*MSKCC= Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Rockefeller = The Rockefeller University; WCMC = Weill Cornell Medical College
Tri-SCI-funded projects - 2006
| PI | Co-PI(s) | Co-Investigator(s) | Title | Lead Institution |
| Stewart Anderson | Neil Harrison (WCMC); Lorenz Studer (MSK) |
Derivation of cortical GABAergic interneurons from mouse and human ES cells | WCMC | |
| Robert Benezra | Peter Mombaerts (Rockefeller) | Role of Id in adult olfactory epithelial stem cells | MSKCC | |
| David Cobrinik | David Abramson (MSK) Thomas Lee |
Identification of a retinal progenitor cell niche in retinoblastoma tumors | WCMC | |
| Barry Coller | Shahin Rafii | Platelet therapy using ES cell-derived megakaryocytes | Rockefeller | |
| Scott Coonrod | David Allis (Rockefeller) | Functional analysis of the mammalian oocyte reprogramming complex | WCMC | |
| Paul Feinstein | Anna-Katerina Hadjantonakis (MSKCC) | Dynamic remodeling of differentiated cells by fusion with embryonic stem cells | Rockefeller | |
| Peter Mombaerts | Lorenz Studer (MSKCC) | Differentiation of olfactory neurons from embryonic or olfactory stem cells | Rockefeller | |
| Shahin Rafii | Malcolm Moore (MSKCC) Zev Rosenwaks (WCMC) |
Identification of molecular and cellular pathways involved in the co-differentiation of human embryonic stem cells into angiomyogenic tissues | WCMC | |
| Urs Rutishauser | Lorenz Studer (MSKCC) Flint Beal (WCMC) |
Improvement of ES cell-derived DA neuron grafts using PSA-NCAM | MSKCC | |
| Michel Sadelain | Malcolm Moore (MSKCC) Gianpiero Palermo (WCMC) |
Pat Giardina (WCMC) Zen Rosenwaks (WCMC) Lorenz Studer (MSKCC) |
Laying the foundations for integrated therapeutic cloning and globin gene transfer to treat β-thalassemia | MSKCC |
| Thomas Sakmar | Ching-Hwa Sung (WCMC) | Role of a novel G protein-AGS2/Tctex-1 interaction in controlling stem cell fate | Rockefeller | |
| Chris Sander | Lorenz Studer (MSKCC) Thomas Tuschl (Rockefeller) |
The role of microRNAs in human embryonic stem cells | MSKCC | |
| Hermann Steller | Shahin Rafii | Enhancing self-renewal of human stem cells through manipulation of apoptotis | Rockefeller | |
| Lorenz Studer | Viviane Tabar (MSKCC) Neil Harrison (WCMC) |
Strategies to enhance the in vivo efficacy of human ES derived dopamine neurons | MSKCC | |
| Sidney Strickland | Lorenz Studer (MSKCC) | The use of stem cells for treatment of peripheral neuropathy | Rockefeller | |
| Viviane Tabar | Lorenz Studer (MSKCC) Neil Harrison (WCMC) |
Radiation damage repair via human ES cells | MSKCC | |
| Alexander Tarakhovsky | Ali Brivanlou (Rockefeller) Derek Sant’Angelo (MSKCC) |
A functional human immune system in the mouse | Rockefeller |
*MSKCC= Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Rockefeller = The Rockefeller University; WCMC = Weill Cornell Medical College
Tri-I Starr Stem Cell Scholars Fellowship Program
Stem cell research will require the institutions to make a long-term investment in training future generations of scientists to conduct research in this highly complex, multidisciplinary field. The Tri-I Starr Stem Cell Scholars Fellowship Program provides fellowship support to outstanding candidates pursuing advanced stem cell research in any of the three institutions’ laboratories. The ability to offer such assistance will encourage the very best young investigators to take part in the initiative.
A call for applications was issued in 2008 and the proposals submitted were evaluated by a group of internal faculty at each institution. This competition has resulted in the selection of 11 new Starr Stem Cell Scholars listed below, who received 2-year awards to support stipends, conference travel and laboratory expenses. Receiving a Tri-I Starr Stem Cell Scholars Fellowship constitutes a mark of scientific distinction and reflects a strong commitment to upholding the highest standards of responsibility and excellence. It is anticipated that another call for applications will be issued in 2009.
2008 Tri-I Starr Stem Cell Scholar Awardees:
| Fellow | Title | Faculty Mentor | Title |
| Stuart Chambers (MSKCC) | Postdoctoral Fellow | Lorenz Studer | Genome-wide identification of polysome associated messenger RNA during human embryonic stem cell pluripotency and differentiation |
| Amanda Michelle Holland (MSKCC) | Graduate Fellow | Marcel van den Brink |
Ex vivo generation of HSC-derived precursors genetically engineered for "off-the-shelf" immunotherapy across MHC barriers |
| Sonja Kriks (MSKCC) | Postdoctoral Fellow | Lorenz Studer | BAC transgenesis in human embryonic stem cells - a novel tool to optimize cell therapy in preclinical models of Parkinson's disease |
| Tamara Major (MSKCC) | Postdoctoral Fellow | Viviane Tabar | Optimization of protocols for derivation of oligodendrocytes from human embryonic stem cells |
| Isabelle Migeotte (MSKCC) | Postdoctoral Fellow | Kathryn Anderson |
Endothelium supports hematopoietic stem cell expansion through notch signaling |
| Jason Butler (WCMC) | Postdoctoral Fellow | Shahin Rafii | Endothelium supports hematopoietic stem cell expansion through notch signaling |
| Michael Cohen (WCMC) | Postdoctoral Fellow | Samie Jaffrey | Human ES cells as a paradigm to investigate the role of small RNAs in the epigenetics of Fragile X syndrome |
| Ilaria Falciatori (WCMC) | Postdoctoral Fellow | Shahin Rafii | The role of tNASP in conversion of unipotent germline stem cells into multipotent adult stem cells |
| Donna Nichol (WCMC) | Postdoctoral Fellow | Heidi Stuhlmann |
Role of EGFL7 in bone marrow regeneration |
| Peter Chi (Hung Yuan) (Rockefeller) |
Postdoctoral Fellow | Elaine Fuchs | Regulatory mechanisms underlying Wnt signaling in skin development |
| Ya-Chieh Hsu (Rockefeller) | Postdoctoral Fellow | Elaine Fuchs(WCMC) | Functional importance of stem cell quiescence |
*MSKCC= Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center; Rockefeller = The Rockefeller University; WCMC = Weill Cornell Medical College