SAN DIEGO -- Five San Diego-area stem cell researchers were awarded grants totaling about $13 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, it was announced Wednesday.

The grant recipients include four scientists at the University of California, San Diego and one from San Diego State University, according to the CIRM.

Grants were awarded to:

Dr. Catriona Jamieson, UCSD, $3 million

Dr. Mana Parast, UCSD, $3 million

Dr. Benjamin Yu, UCSD, $3 million

Dr. Shyni Varghese, $2.3 million

Dr. Ricardo Zayas, SDSU, $1.7 million

They are among 23 researchers statewide that will share in $59 million in New Faculty II Awards from the CIRM.

The recipients receive salary and research support for five years, giving them a stable work environment at a point when funding can otherwise be difficult to obtain.

The money is part of the $3 billion approved by California voters in 2004 with the passage of Proposition 71 to fund stem cell research. The money is distributed by a 29-member Independent Citizens Oversight Committee, which governs the CIRM.