“A small grant can make all the difference in the world to me as a small investigator,” Lensch said. “I’m a small potatoes kind of guy, but I think that the work is important.”

Jennings emphasized that while the sum may not be large, the HSCI grant is enough for many early-stage researchers to carry out their experiments.

“The NIH spends over $30 billion a year supporting research,” he said. “We will invest our money where there is the most impact—$150,000 is not a huge sum, but it’s not a trivial sum either.”

For Rosario S. Parnaute, assistant professor of neurology at HMS and McLean Hospital, who receives funding from other “small-sized foundations” for projects not involving stem cells, the grant money will still only allow her to start pilot research on a small scale.

“It’s very limited what you can do with this amount,” she said, referring to her projects with embryonic stem cells. “But we can do the experiments that we proposed, and I think that is very valuable for us.”

And researchers still remain optimistic about other funding opportunities. Lensch, who advocates on behalf of stem cell researchers on Beacon and Capitol Hill, said he anticipated future relaxation of current restrictions on federal support for embryonic stem cell research.

“I am constantly hopeful that the funding situation will improve—there are certainly some federal currents suggesting this,” he said.

The awarding of the HSCI grants last week coincided with the state Senate’s overwhelming approval of a finalized bill which would unambiguously endorse stem cell research in Massachusetts. The bill, which has reached its final version in the state legislature, is expected to be voted on by the House this week.

—Staff writer Risheng Xu can be reached at xu4@fas.harvard.edu.