Curt I. Civin, MD, Editor-in-Chief of STEM CELLS (at left), expresses gratitude to Joydeep Goswami, PhD, Vice President of Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at Invitrogen, for his support of STEM CELLS Young Investigator Award. The co-winners and honorable mention were announced at the ISSCR meeting in Toronto, Canada, June 30, 2006.

CO-WINNER: Sergey S. Akimov, Ph.D. of the Transmissible Diseases Department, J.H. Holland Laboratory for the Biomedical Sciences of the American Red Cross for the paper entitled Bypass of Senescence, Immortalization, and Transformation of Human Hematopoietic Progenitor Cells, published in the October 2005 issue of STEM CELLS

CO-WINNER: Makoto Sahara, M.D., of the Department of Cardiovascular Medicine, University of Tokyo Graduate School of Medicine for the paper entitled Comparison of Various Bone Marrow Fractions in the Ability to Participate in Vascular Remodeling After Mechanical Injury, published in the August 2005 issue of STEM CELLS

HONORABLE MENTION: Lin Wang, M.D., Ph.D., of the Department of Pediatrics, School of Medicine at West Virginia University for the paper, Activation of Transforming Growth Factor-β1/p38/Smad3 Signaling in Stromal Cells Requires Reactive Oxygen Species-Mediated MMP-2 Activity During Bone Marrow Damage, published in the September 2005 issue of STEM CELLS

Read the press release online at http://biz.yahoo.com/bw/060630/20060630005258.html?.v=1

STEM CELLS^®, THE JOURNAL, AND INVITROGEN JOIN TO CREATE
STEM CELLS^® YOUNG INVESTIGATOR AWARD

Durham, NC & Carlsbad, CA, June 19, 2006 – The Senior Editors of the journal STEM CELLS^® today announced the creation of the STEM CELLS^® Young Investigator Award. This award will be given to a scientist age 40 or younger who is the principal author of the qualifying STEM CELLS paper from the past year judged to be most important. The award carries a $10,000 prize.

This first annual award will be presented at the 4th Annual Meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research, June 29-July 1, 2006 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Invitrogen Corporation is supporting the award with an unrestricted educational grant.

“Since Invitrogen is committed to empowering scientists in all areas of the life sciences, especially stem cell research, we have been eager to participate in programs that recognize the vital contributions of today’s young stem cell researchers,” said Invitrogen Vice President, Research, Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine Dr. Mahendra Rao. “We are delighted to support STEM CELLS, one of the field’s most outstanding journals, as it highlights important contributions to this fast-paced field of research.”

“We are very impressed with the high quality of research we have published in STEM CELLS during the past year,” said Dr. Curt I. Civin, Editor-in-Chief. “A group of members of our Editorial Board will read and rank the submitted manuscripts, and it will be a great pleasure to recognize the young scientist who has made what we will select as the most significant contribution to stem cell science. We are grateful for Invitrogen’s support which enables the Journal to further stimulate the field in this way.”

For more information, visit http://stemcells.alphamedpress.org/

About STEM CELLS

STEM CELLS, the international journal of cell differentiation and proliferation, publishes original articles and concise reviews describing basic laboratory investigations of stem cells and the translation to patient care. The Journal covers all aspects of stem cells and regenerative medicine. Currently in its 24th year of publication, STEM CELLS is the first journal devoted to this fast-paced field of research. Its current Impact Factor of 6.094 places it in the top 3% of all high-impact international journals.

About Invitrogen Corporation

Invitrogen Corporation (Nasdaq:IVGN - News) provides products and services that support academic and government research institutions and pharmaceutical and biotech companies worldwide in their efforts to improve the human condition. The company provides essential life science technologies for disease research, drug discovery, and commercial bioproduction. Invitrogen's own research and development efforts are focused on breakthrough innovation in all major areas of biological discovery including functional genomics, proteomics, bioinformatics and cell biology -- placing Invitrogen's products in nearly every major laboratory in the world. Founded in 1987, Invitrogen is headquartered in Carlsbad, California, and conducts business in more than 70 countries around the world. The company globally employs approximately 4,800 professionals and had revenues of more than $1.2 billion in 2005. For more information on Invitrogen's Stem Cell Portfolio, please visit www.invitrogen.com/stemcells.

Contacts

STEM CELLS:
Media: Laurel Ferejohn (919) 680-0011 ext. 234, laurelferejohn{at}alphamedpress.com

Invitrogen Corporation:
Media: Greg Geissman (760) 476-7032, gregory.geissman{at}invitrogen.com

Agency:
Carolyn Hawley, Porter Novelli Life Sciences (858) 527-3484, chawley{at}pnlifesciences.com