The University of California Davis has been awarded $7 million from the state stem-cell agency to study the possibility of using stem cells to treat babies with blood disorders and develop a treatment for Huntington’s disease, a fatal genetic condition with no cure.

Fifteen universities, research institutes and private companies received a total of $68 million from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

The grants are aimed to develop new drugs and boost production in the development of new therapies. The UC Davis money will be allocated in two areas -- $4.2 million for preclinical research with embryonic and umbilical cord blood stem cells that could treat sickle cell anemia and bleeding disorders.

The remaining $2.8 million is earmarked for Huntington’s disease research.