New York Stem Cell Foundation Receives Grant for Diabetes Research from Helmsley Foundation

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New York Stem Cell Foundation Receives Grant for Diabetes Research from Helmsley Foundation
Posted : Wed, 22 Apr 2009 15:23:37 GMT
Author : The New York Stem Cell Foundation

NEW YORK - (Business Wire) The New York Stem Cell Foundation has received a $300,000 grant from the Leona M. and Harry B. Helmsley Foundation to provide seed funding for the initial six-month phase of NYSCF’s multi-year diabetes modeling program.

“We are honored and delighted to have been selected as one of the Helmsely Foundation’s grant recipients,” said Susan L. Solomon, CEO and co-founder of NYSCF. “This grant will help us understand diabetes. We believe that stem cells hold the key to developing better treatments and a cure for this devastating disease, and we thank the Helmsley Foundation Trustees for their generosity.”

Type 1 diabetes is a chronic disease that affects nearly one million Americans, many of them children, who must maintain a grueling treatment regimen in order to preserve their health. In Type 1 diabetes, cells of the immune system attack and kill insulin producing (beta) cells in the pancreas. To stop this destructive cycle, researchers must understand what triggers the attack and which genes are involved.

The New York Stem Cell Foundation:

Founded in 2005, The New York Stem Cell Foundation is a non-profit organization dedicated to furthering stem cell research to advance the search for cures of the major diseases of our time. NYSCF opened the first privately funded stem cell laboratory in New York City in March 2006 to serve as a “safe haven” where scientists can conduct advanced stem cell research free of federal restrictions. The organization supports scientists engaged in stem cell research through grants, fellowships and symposia; runs collaborative, state-of-the-art research facilities supported entirely with private funds and directly focused on curing disease; and educates the public about the importance and potential benefits of stem cell research. For more information about NYSCF, visit its website at http://www.nyscf.org.

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