CBA Foundation Directors Review Recent Projects

Issued: Dec. 14, 2022

“There’s three things we love,” said Kenneth Giacin, president of the CBA Foundation: “Assisting scientists who are seeking to develop new treatments, expanding the therapeutic uses of cord blood and birthing tissues, and supporting the careers of young investigators.”

All three of those passions are evident in projects reviewed this past week in a directors’ meeting of the foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Cord Blood Association.

• The directors received a final report on a $200,000 foundation grant for standardizing methods for remote monitoring of treatment outcomes for young children with autism spectrum disorder. The research augmented an FDA-authorized Expanded Access Program in which subjects received infusions of autologous or sibling cord blood.

• Another recently completed project was a study of the anti-inflammatory effect of the mechanism of action of cord tissue-derived MSCs in modulating inflammation. The objective was to understand how MSCs interact with lung macrophages to produce system anti-inflammatory effects. The research was supported by a two-year $50,000 Research Scholar Award from the CBA Foundation.

• This fall, four young investigators received travel grants for presenting their research at the Cord Blood Connect international congress. The recipients, coming from Canada and Germany as well as the United States, earned the $2,000 competitive grants based on review-committee scores awarded for their abstracts submitted for the congress poster session.

The CBA Foundation is supported by contributions from cord blood banks, industry partners, individuals and the Cord Blood Association.