Jeff Sheey, HIV/AIDS patient advocate on our governing board

I don’t mean to blow our own horn, but… OK, that’s exactly what I mean to do. Go us!

Two CIRM folks are on fellow blogger Paul Knoepfler’s top 12 list of finalists for stem cell person of the year. This is Knoepfler’s second year holding this contest, with a $1,000 prize. Last year’s winner was patient advocate and stem cell supporter extraordinaire Roman Reed.

Paul took nominations on his blog, then put those nominations up for a vote. The result is an impressive list of stem cell luminaries including at #6 our own Jeff Sheehy, who he describes as follows:

Jeff Sheehy, an active Member of the CIRM Governing Board and an HIV/AIDS and stem cell patient advocate.

We describe him as an incredibly committed member of our governing Board and longtime supporter of HIV/AIDS research. For the past few years he’s been an outspoken proponent of our HIV/AIDS disease teams that are working on a possible cure for the disease.

Coming in at #10 is Patricia Olson, who Knoepfler describes as follows:

Patricia Olson, a stem cell scientist who has been a major driving force in CIRM’s success and the agency’s continuing positive evolution over the years.

She’s our Executive Director of Scientific Activities and overall passionate driver of new initiatives and programs to further stem cell therapies. And, I’ll add, a great colleague.

May the best person win! Especially if that person is named Jeff or Pat.

Amy Adams