This has become a very common topic of conversation in the US (not just Silicon Valley) among engineers, tech-enthusiasts, and academics in the past decade or so. I think it has a lot to do with Ray Kurzweil's "The Age of Spiritual Machines" -- at least that was around the time I noticed even regular people talking about this subject without fear of being labeled an eccentric.
There are still communities where this topic is not openly discussed. A friend in the medical field told me once it's taboo to talk about radical life extension in many sectors of the healthcare industry -- which I find very sad. There are also religious communities in the US that this doesn't sit well with.
Overall I'd say we're not far away from mainstream acceptance of these ideas -- even among the medical establishment and religious communities. As for top universities -- this has been a topic of conversation for quite some time.