Each month CIRM President Alan Trounson gives his perspective on recently published papers he thinks will be valuable in moving the field of stem cell research forward. This month’s report, along with an archive of past reports, is available on the CIRM website.The lead article in this month’s report focuses on CIRM-funded work in Irv … Continue reading Guest blogger Alan Trounson — March stem cell research highlights

David Serrano Sewell is a patient advocate member of CIRM’s governing board. His bio is available on our website.When I began serving on the CIRM governing board in 2005 it was with the hope that I could be part of guiding the agency’s decisions in a way that would benefit the many people in California … Continue reading David Serrano Sewell reflects on MS Awareness Month, the need for therapies

Stanford researcher Irv Weissman made the news yesterday when he published a paper showing that  a single antibody-based therapy can effectively slow the growth and in some cases eliminate many different kinds of human tumors, at least in mice. Weissman leads a $20 million CIRM disease team that is developing an antibody-based therapy to treat … Continue reading Single antibody developed by CIRM grantee fights many tumors

We are rolling out our 2011 Annual Report stories throughout March. The full report will be posted online and available for download later this month.Each year in our Annual Report we highlight some of the patients and scientists who came to speak to our governing board about the search for cures. This year one of … Continue reading Stem cell therapy for heart attack

At last week's meeting in Sacramento, our governing board heard an update on the progress being made by the 14 CIRM disease teams that they had approved in October 2009. A list of those teams is available on our website. Funding teams of researchers with scientific and regulatory expertise to work together was an innovative … Continue reading Progress report from the CIRM disease teams

Yesterday’s governing board meeting in Sacramento included an agenda packed with meaty discussion items. We’ll be blogging about those items over the next few days. You can read the agenda here to see what was up for vote and discussion. We always audiocast our board meetings and put that information in the agenda for those … Continue reading California’s diverse high school students get additional stem cell lab experience

We are rolling out our 2011 Annual Report stories throughout March. The full report will be posted online and available for download later this month. Each year in our Annual Report we highlight some of the patients and scientists who came to speak to our governing board about the search for cures. This year one … Continue reading Stories of Hope: finding a therapy for neuromyelitis optica

Pancreatic cells derived from human embryonic stem cells. ViaCyte, Inc.This colorful river of cells is really a side shot of pancreatic cells within a thin device. The cells, which were matured from embryonic stem cells, are being developed as a therapy for diabetes by a CIRM-funded disease team led by ViaCyte in La Jolla.The group … Continue reading Stem cell image of the week: Pancreatic cells for a diabetes therapy

We are rolling out our 2011 Annual Report stories throughout March. The full report will be posted online and available for download later this month. Today we are introducing a story about the economic benefits of funding stem cell research in the state: Stem Cell Therapy for the Economy.CIRM’s primary mission is to develop new … Continue reading Stem Cell Therapy for the Economy

The Parkinson’s Institute in Sunnyvale not only carries out CIRM-funded research into therapies for Parkinson’s disease (you can see a list of their awards here), but they are also training the next generation of researchers to continue that work in the future. They’ve partnered with the San Jose State University CIRM-funded Bridges program to provide … Continue reading CIRM Bridges students at Parkinson’s Institute get job training, experience