LA JOLLA -- Scientists at The Scripps Research Institute have received a $17 million federal grant to research using stem cells to treat common kinds of vision loss. Scripps made the announcement Tuesday morning.

The five-year grant, which begins June 1, comes from the National Eye Institute, part of the National Institutes of Health. Scripps researchers hope to develop treatments for such diseases as diabetic retinopathy, age-related macular degeneration, glaucoma and retinitis pigmentosa.

Led by professor Martin Friedlander, the Scripps team will use "adult", or non-embryonic stem cells in their research.

The Friedlander lab will work with six other laboratory groups at Scripps to do the necessary research before therapies can be tested in humans. The other groups are those of Laura Crisa, Glen Nemerow, Wolfram Ruf, Gary Siuzdak, Bruce Torbett, and William Balch.

The Scripps Research Institute is part of a consortium of San Diego research and educational institutes that has established a center for stem cell research. The other members are UC San Diego, the Salk Institute and the Burnham Institute. They are bidding for stem cell research funding under California's Proposition 71, which is primarily intended to fund research with embryonic stem cells that the federal government will not fund

In August 2001, President Bush announced he would fund research on "adult" stem cells, but ban federal funding of research with embryonic stem cells isolated by researchers before his announcment. Embryonic stem cells isolated before his announcement qualify for funding.