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Campus Pairs With Aussies By Charles Nguyen News Editor UCSD and Australian researchers will partner in a promising collaboration on stem cell research, the university announced earlier this week. California has long been the center of stem cell research, especially since the approval of Proposition 71, which opened the way for $3 billion in taxpayer money to be allocated over the next decade to the research effort. The campus recently entered a consortium between the Burnham Institute, the Salk Institute for Biological Studies and the Scripps Research Institute that it hopes will help access funding under the voter-approved initiative. The research grants have been blocked by lawsuits brought by two taxpayer groups claiming that the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine - which is supposed to dole out the research funding - violates the state constitution. Australian stem cell officials, however, have already promised the bulk of funding in their partnership with UCSD. The Australian state of Victoria is giving $38 million to establish the Australian Regenerative Medicine Institute. The money will specifically benefit the collaboration. In addition to other philanthropy and investments, the university expects funds of more than $100 million for its stem cell research, John Brumby, Victoria's minister for innovation, told the San Diego Union Tribune. Victoria is also giving $200,000 to Australian scientists so that they can begin working on the partnership immediately. "The memorandum of understanding between the UCSD and Australian Stem Cell Centre will result in two of the world's leading centers working together on future projects and discoveries," Steve Bracks, premier of Australia's state of Victoria, stated in a press release. The foundation for the joint effort was laid several years ago when UCSD stem cell researcher Larry Goldstein began working with Alan Trounson from Monash University in Victoria. ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn