One of the biggest hurdles in understanding and treating neurological diseases is figuring out what has gone awry with those cells. People aren't generally eager to donate a chunk of their brains for research. With the advent of reprogrammed iPS cells scientists have been able to recreate the diseases in a lab dish and begin … Continue reading Autism-like syndrome modeled by in a lab dish
Month: November 2011
San Diego area gets stem cell “Collaboratory”
Sanford Consortium for Regenerative MedicineToday the ninth of twelve CIRM-supported stem cell facilities in California is opening its doors. The Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine in La Jolla will be home to stem cell scientists from five San Diego area research centers — University of California San Diego, The Salk Institute, The Scripps Research Institute, … Continue reading San Diego area gets stem cell “Collaboratory”
San Diego area gets stem cell "Collaboratory"
Sanford Consortium for Regenerative MedicineToday the ninth of twelve CIRM-supported stem cell facilities in California is opening its doors. The Sanford Consortium for Regenerative Medicine in La Jolla will be home to stem cell scientists from five San Diego area research centers — University of California San Diego, The Salk Institute, The Scripps Research Institute, … Continue reading San Diego area gets stem cell "Collaboratory"
Jonathan Thomas on CIRM’s progress toward stem cell therapies
Jonathan Thomas is Chair of the CIRM Governing Board When I became Chair of CIRM this summer one of my first priorities was to reach out to the people of California and explain the progress we’ve made in developing new therapies. The agency only started funding research in 2007 and yet we already have 43 … Continue reading Jonathan Thomas on CIRM’s progress toward stem cell therapies
Hope for treating heart disease with stem cells?
It's a big day for announcing prizes to CIRM grantee, and a good week for stem cells in heart disease. CIRM scholar Li Qian from The Gladstone Institutes won the Louis N. and Arnold M. Katz Basic Science Research Prize for Young Investigators from the American Heart Association (AHA). Hers was one of several announcements … Continue reading Hope for treating heart disease with stem cells?
Presidential Award goes to UCSF high school internship program hosting CIRM-supported students
Last summer CIRM sponsored high school students to carry out stem cell research at five California universities in association with existing high school internship programs at those schools. Yesterday we learned that President Obama likes our choice of partner programs — the UCSF program that included six CIRM-supported students received the Presidential Award for Excellence … Continue reading Presidential Award goes to UCSF high school internship program hosting CIRM-supported students
The First International Vatican Adult Stem Cell Conference: A Gound-Breaking Achievement
John Wagner is Professor and Director of the Division of Pediatric Blood and Marrow Transplantation at the University of Minnesota Medical School. He performed the first umbilical cord blood transplant to treat a child with leukemia and pioneered the use of stem cells in the treatment of the skin disease epidermolysis bullosa. He is also … Continue reading The First International Vatican Adult Stem Cell Conference: A Gound-Breaking Achievement
Q&A about Geron’s decision and its implications for the stem cell field
Yesterday Geron announced that they would be discontinuing their embryonic stem cell program, including the groundbreaking spinal cord injury trial that CIRM had been supporting. You can read more about the decision in Geron's announcement and in CIRM's press release. Geron has returned the $6.4 million they had received from CIRM with accrued interest.It's not … Continue reading Q&A about Geron’s decision and its implications for the stem cell field
The Personhood Amendment: California here we come
Sen. Art Torres (Ret.) is vice-chair of the CIRM governing board. His biography is available here.A ballot measure that defined a fertilized egg as a person failed to pass in Mississippi on Tuesday. The amendments passage would have restricted stem cell research, and the Washington Post reported on additional concerns caused by the measure:Opponents say … Continue reading The Personhood Amendment: California here we come
Lights…Camera…Stem Cells! Filming the 2011 CIRM Grantee Meeting
Todd Dubnicoff is CIRM’s videographer and video editorNo family reunion is complete until somebody brings out the video camera. Our CIRM family is no different. So my colleague Amy Adams and I went on-location to downtown San Francisco in mid-September to film the 2011 CIRM Grantee Meeting. This almost annual, three day event brings together … Continue reading Lights…Camera…Stem Cells! Filming the 2011 CIRM Grantee Meeting
The Stem Cellar 