Juan Carlos Izpisua Belmonte, a professor at the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, has been awarded a $2.5 million grant to continue his work in stem cell biology and regeneration.
The grant will fund Izpisua Belmonte’s lab in attempting to generate functional primate organs and tissues inside a living pig. Izpisua Belmonte is using novel stem cell technologies his team has developed, along with recently discovered gene-editing technologies.
“This research promises to shed important light on early development and could one day lead to new methods for growing transplantable human tissues,” said Salk President Elizabeth Blackburn in a statement.
The National Institutes of Health Pioneer Award, which supports scientists of exceptional creativity who propose potentially high-impact work, will be disbursed over the course of five years.
