Monash's Alan Trounson to Take Over Leadership of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. (September 18, 2007)

Alan Trounson    Credit: Monash

ScienceNOW reports: "California has landed one of the biggest fish in the Pacific to head its stem cell venture. In a meeting late last Friday, the board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) approved the appointment of Alan Trounson as the institute's president. Trounson, one of Australia's premier stem cell researchers and director of stem cell research at Monash University in Melbourne, Australia, joins an international roster of big-name researchers who have been lured by California's $3 (A$3.6) billion stem cell research program, launched in 2004. 'Things are booming in California right now,' says former CIRM president Zach Hall, who notes that Trounson's varied experience makes him 'almost uniquely qualified for the job.'"

Professor Trounson, who expects to move to San Francisco by year's end, told The Sunday Age: "This is the biggest job in stem cells in the world."

To date CIRM has given about US$200 million in grants, and this month the state will start selling the first US$250 million worth of bonds to finance the venture, which until now has been supported by private contributions and a state loan.

Whether or not Australian stem cell research and in particular that at Monash University will gain any benefit from Professor Trounson's move remains to be seen.