California State University, Northridge is launching a joint internship program with UCLA to help train students for careers in stem cell research as an expected shortage of professionals in the field approaches. The university’s CSUN-UCLA Bridges to Stem Cell Research Program is being established by assistant biology professor Cindy Malone and biology professor Randy Cohen. “The push right now is for universities to produce skilled scientists who can do this kind of work,” Malone said. “But the bulk of California’s students are at teaching universities, and they’re not being exposed to this cutting-edge research.” The program pairs select students with research scientists from the Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regenerative Medicine and Stem Cell Research, also known as the Broad Stem Cell Research Center, at UCLA. The full-time internships allow 10 students each year from the university to conduct independent research under the guidance of scientists and medical doctors who are conducting groundbreaking experiments in adult and embryonic stem cell research. The internships are funded by a $1.6 million grant from The California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. The program is expected to help prepare students for biotech jobs, graduate programs or research institutions. Jessica Selva