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| Apollo Scientific Advisory Board Member to Head World’s Largest Stem Cell Research Institute |
Dr Alan Trounson | One of Apollo’s Advisory Board members, the Australian scientist Dr Alan Trounson, has been appointed as president of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) in San Francisco.
With a budget totalling US$3 billion, CIRM is the largest source of funding for stem cell research in the world.
Dr Trounson, 61, was a pioneer of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) and associated reproductive technologies in humans and instrumental in the development of human embryonic stem cells for use in medical research. Alan was the founding CEO of the Australian Stem Cell Centre (www.stemcellcentre.edu.au), established in 2002, and is currently director of the Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories at Monash University in Melbourne.
Dr Trounson said the appointment to CIRM was the high point of his long career.
"It's obviously a tremendous personal opportunity and honour, but it is also a sign of the high regard in which Australian research organisations and scientists are held internationally in stem cell research.
"This is a research field in which our achievements are world class—I see myself as an ambassador for all Australian medical researchers," he said in Melbourne on his appointment.
Dr Trounson said his vision as CIRM president was to link Californian stem cell research with similar work in other major research centres. He believed this would help to eliminate research duplication and reduce the time needed for laboratory discoveries to progress to clinical applications.
Dr Trounson expects to take up his new post by the end of this year.
Apollo CEO, John Priest, congratulated Dr Trounson on the appointment. "Alan is one of the world’s pre-eminent stem cell researchers, and he is a great Ambassador for Australian science and we look forward to continuing a strong relationship with him in his new role," he said. |
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