The Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine is one of the latest collaborations in stem cell research at the School of Medicine, which is a joint initiative with Shriners Hospital for Children Northern California. The new Institute for Pediatric Regenerative Medicine will carry out basic and translational research, with the aim of helping children with spinal cord dysfunction, orthopaedic disorders and burns.

Occupying more than 22,000 square feet of wet bench lab space across the street from the UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento, the institute's key research is focusing on the potential for stem cell-based therapies to facilitate the regeneration of neural and connective tissues and skin. Plans are in the works to recruit 10 to 12 investigators over the next few years.

David Pleasure, director of research at Shriners and a professor of neurology at UC Davis, leads the new institute. David Greenhalgh, a professor of surgery at UC Davis and chief of burn surgery at Shriners, is the institute's associate director.