By: Geoffrey Lomax Dr. PHD

In August, I had the pleasure of representing CIRM at California’s first conference dedicated entirely to training nurses and health professionals about cellular therapies. The City of Hope Alpha Stem Cell Clinic sponsored the program titled: Critical Role of Nursing Cellular Therapies. The Alpha Clinic at City of Hope has spent the past three years focusing on the role nurses play in the successful delivery new stem cell and regenerative medicine treatments to patients. They have published an article detailing this experience: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5746156/pdf/SCT3-7-6.pdf

The event could not have come at a better time. More the 300,000 registered nurses are licensed in California – the state’s single largest health profession. There are over 875 regenerative medicine clinical trials in progress worldwide. These trials include gene and stem cell therapies. With an extensive network of world-class medical centers, California is ideally positioned as a leader in the regenerative medicine space that is witnessing billions of dollars in new investment annually.

The conference provided an opportunity for nurses and health professional to learn about the regenerative medicine clinical trials, including:

• Describing the nurse’s role in clinical trial research
• Understanding the ethical responsibilities of nurses in caring for patients undergoing cellular therapy
• Conveying the patient experience throughout the treatment process
• Describing procedures for administering cell therapies and monitoring for safety

A complete agenda may be found here: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/critical-role-of-nursing-in-cellular-therapies-tickets-45907582816#

Over 150 participants attended each day of the conference. The majority were registered or licensed nurses (86%) and other attendees included doctors, scientists, and students. The vast majority were from California, but participants traveled from New York, Florida, Arizona and Washington State to attend. Almost, all the session were graded as good to excellent by 90% of those responding to the program survey. One responded wrote:

On the whole, an incredibly professional, informative, and well-presented meeting.  Very impressive!

During breaks, I had the opportunity to meet participants. Many indicated that they are becoming aware of the growing field of regenerative medicine and wanted to transition their careers into this space.  They view this event as important for raising awareness of new opportunities for career development.

The CIRM Alpha Clinics Network is continuing with a series of educational webinars in the area of nursing and cell therapies. For more information contact:  jsprein@coh.org