Patients and Patient Advocates are at the heart of everything we do at CIRM. That’s why we are holding three free public events in the next few months focused on updating you on the stem cell research we are funding, and our plans for the future.
Right now we have 33 projects that we have funded in clinical trials. Those range from heart disease and stroke, to cancer, diabetes, ALS (Lou Gehrig’s disease), two different forms of vision loss, spinal cord injury and HIV/AIDS. We have also helped cure dozens of children battling deadly immune disorders. But as far as we are concerned we are only just getting started.
Over the course of the next few years, we have a goal of adding dozens more clinical trials to that list, and creating a pipeline of promising therapies for a wide range of diseases and disorders.
That’s why we are holding these free public events – something we try and do every year. We want to let you know what we are doing, what we are funding, how that research is progressing, and to get your thoughts on how we can improve, what else we can do to help meet the needs of the Patient Advocate community. Your voice is important in helping shape everything we do.
The first event is at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco on Wednesday, September 6th from noon till 1pm. The doors open at 11am for registration and a light lunch.
Gladstone Institutes
Here’s a link to an Eventbrite page that has all the information about the event, including how you can RSVP to let us know you are coming.
We are fortunate to be joined by two great scientists, and speakers – as well as being CIRM grantees- from the Gladstone Institutes, Dr. Deepak Srivastava and Dr. Steve Finkbeiner.
Dr. Srivastava is working on regenerating heart muscle after it has been damaged. This research could not only help people recover from a heart attack, but the same principles might also enable us to regenerate other organs damaged by disease. Dr. Finkbeiner is a pioneer in diseases of the brain and has done ground breaking work in both Alzheimer’s and Huntington’s disease.
We have two other free public events coming up in October. The first is at UC Davis in Sacramento on October 10th (noon till 1pm) and the second at Cedars-Sinai in Los Angeles on October 30th (noon till 1pm). We will have more details on these events in the coming weeks.
We look forward to seeing you at one of these events and please feel free to share this information with anyone you think might be interested in attending.
The Stem Cellar 
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A clinical trial, also called an interventional study, tests new drugs and treatments. It can also test new applications for approved drugs or treatments (for example, using drugs in different combinations or for different diseases). This is different from an observational study, which records data about participants according to a predetermined schedule and process, but offers no drugs or treatments.