Progress
June, 2010
Scott King gives a report on the progress of the Solving Diabetes Project. Click here for the full report.
April 2010
Diabetes Research Awarded U.C. Discovery Grant
SAN FRANCISCO, April 5, 2010 — University of California – Irvine researcher Jonathan Lakey, PhD, has been awarded a UC Discovery grant. The Discovery grant recognizes highly meritorious research that addresses California’s needs and is extremely competitive. Hanuman Medical Foundation, a San Francisco non-profit organization that supports innovative research, has added funds, bringing the total grant for Dr. Lakey’s research to $105,000.
The proposal, Islet Transplantation Using Alginate Sheet, is a collaboration with San Francisco-based Cerco Medical, whose scientists have invented the most widely used platelet separation device in clinical use. The research proposes to develop a technology that would provide stable blood glucose levels for insulin-dependent diabetics without the use of immunosuppressant drugs or injected insulin, presenting a functional cure for one of the world’s chronic diseases.
Scott King of Cerco Medical said, “More than 2.6 million Californians must inject insulin every day. The Discovery Grant will help to continue our ongoing research in pursuit of a functional cure for diabetes. We are grateful to Hanuman Medical Foundation and the UC Regents for their support.”
January, 2010
The Hanuman Medical Foundation is featured in the “giving” section of Gentry Magazine. Here is the article.
October 25, 2009
The joint meeting of the International Pancreas and Islet Transplantation Association (IPITA) and the International Xenotransplantation Association (IXA) has ended in Venice, Italy. This is the first overseas meeting that Hanuman Medical Foundation and the research team has attended in a long time. We renewed acquaintances with friends and colleagues in the field and learned the latest results.
June 25, 2009
The Solving Diabetes Project website is launched to raise awareness about the Islet Sheet Research. The Islet Sheet technology is a very promising approach and we want people to know about this research. It is our opinion that if we want to cure diabetes we need to consider all strategies to finally bring an end to diabetes, which is the common goal that we all share.
Rick Storrs, VP Research at Cerco Medical, presents results at the Cell Transplant Society meeting in Okayama, Japan.
April 8, 2009
The first Islet Sheet data is published at the Levine Symposium held in Anaheim, CA.
April 1, 2009
Paul Del Bene is hired as Director of Advancement for the Foundation. The goal is to raise enough funds to take the research up to clinical trials.
December 10, 2008
Hanuman Medical Foundation hosts a private conference to permit world leaders in encapsulation to review the research plans. Attendees include Professors Ricardo Calafiore and Giuseppe Basta from Perugia (Italy); Pierre Gianello and Denis Dufrane from UCL (Belgium); Richard Bergman from USC; and Andrew Drexler and Carol Robertson from UCLA.
September 2, 2008
Research collaboration between Cerco Medical and UC Irvine begins.
July 1, 2008
Dr. Lakey begins as Director of Research, UCI Surgery.
October, 2007
During discussions Cerco Medical learns that the Surgery Department at the University of California Irvine is considering hiring Prof. Jonathan Lakey, the lead investigator at Edmonton in prior research. Cerco Medical and the Foundation support his candidacy.
April, 2007
Based on initial conversations with donors Hanuman Medical Foundation requests that Cerco Medical find a collaborator closer to San Francisco, preferrably in California. Cerco Medical begins investigating potential collaborators
March, 2007
The founding board reviews opportunities for orphan therapeutics and selects the Islet Sheet Project to be the Hanuman Medical Foundation’s first project. The management of Cerco Medical prepare a plan focused on collaboration with the previous collaborator, the University of Alberta (Edmonton).
February, 2007
Hanuman Medical Foundation is founded by John Golenski and Scott King. The opportunity is to fund orphan therapies. The suspended Islet Sheet Project is a model for opportunities to be pursued. Golenski and King recruit founding board members.
December, 2001
Changed conditions in the investment environment make fund raising for the Islet Sheet project impossible. The Cerco Medical team decides to shelve the project until conditions improve.