Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland CEO Dr. Bertram Lubin Appointed to State Stem Cell Agency Governing Board

Dr. Lubin Joins 28 Other Distinguished State Leaders on Independent Citizen's Oversight Committee

February 28, 2011

Oakland, Calif. - Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland announced today that President and CEO Bertram Lubin, MD, was recently appointed to the Independent Citizen’s Oversight Committee of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state stem cell agency created by Proposition 71 to fund stem cell research, research facilities, and research opportunities throughout the state. Dr. Lubin, a pediatric hematologist/oncologist and translational research investigator, was appointed by State Controller John Chiang to join 28 other distinguished California leaders on the Board.

"The California voters made CIRM possible by passing Proposition 71,” said Dr. Lubin of the 2004 statewide ballot measure that provided $3 billion in funding for stem cell research involving scientists working in California universities and research institutions. “I hope to use my position on this committee to advocate for stem cell research that translates into benefits for children and adults, not only in California but throughout the world.”

In addition to leading Children’s Hospital Oakland, Dr. Lubin is a distinguished clinical, translational and basic research investigator. His primary interest has been related to hemoglobin disorders, such as sickle cell disease. His efforts supported the development of an internationally recognized program for sickle cell anemia and thalassemia at Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland, including establishing the value of newborn screening for sickle cell anemia and co-founding the Northern California Comprehensive Sickle Cell Center. His research in stem cells has focused on the value of cord blood stem cells. With NIH support, he demonstrated the value of sibling cord blood collection for families who had children with genetic and malignant disorders that could benefit from a stem cell transplant. Dr. Lubin is also a member of the Federal Advisory Council on Blood Stem Cell Transplantation to the Secretary of Health and a member of the Cord Blood Advisory Committee to the National Marrow Donor Program.

Dr. Lubin has served on numerous National Institutes of Health (NIH) review committees, community based health consortiums, and university panels across the United States. Dr. Lubin has devoted a great deal of his public advocacy energy to addressing health disparities including diseases such as asthma, diabetes, and obesity. He intends to bring his passion and experience in these areas to the Oversight Committee and support applications for education, training, and therapies that have potential to eliminate health disparities.

"I am and proud that California is leading the way in therapeutic applications of stem cell research,” said Dr. Lubin. “It is an honor to serve on this important committee, to represent the role that children’s hospitals have in this area of research, and to be part of a group of devoted staff and experts that support the development of medical therapies that will impact people in our state and throughout the world.”

Dr. Lubin was sworn into the Board on January 27.

CONTACT:
Erin Goldsmith
510-428-3069 office
510-388-5927 mobile


About Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland
Children’s Hospital & Research Center Oakland is Northern California’s only independent not-for-profit regional medical center for children. Children’s Hospital Oakland is a national leader in many pediatric specialties and sub-specialties including hematology/oncology, neonatology, cardiology, orthopedics, sports medicine, and neurosurgery. The hospital is one of only two solely designated California Level 1 pediatric trauma centers with the largest pediatric inpatient critical care unit in the region. Children’s Hospital has 190 licensed beds, 201 hospital-based physicians in 30 specialties, more than 2,700 employees, and an annual operating budget of more than $350 million. Children’s is also a premier teaching hospital with an outstanding pediatric residency program and unique pediatric subspecialty fellowship programs.

Children’s research program, Children’s Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), is internationally renowned for taking state-of-the-art basic and clinical research and translating it into interventions for treating and preventing human diseases. CHORI has 300 members of its investigative staff, a budget of about $50 million, and is ranked among the nation’s top 10 research centers in National Institutes of Health funding to children’s hospitals. For more information, go to www.childrenshospitaloakland.org and www.chori.org.

back to top