Stem cells have been in the news a lot this week, and not necessarily for the right reason.

First, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) won a big legal decision in its fight to crack down on clinics offering bogus, unproven and unapproved stem cell therapies.

But then came news that another big name celebrity, in this case Star Trek star William Shatner, was going to one of these clinics for an infusion of what he called “restorative cells”.

It’s a reminder that for every step forward we take in trying to educate the public about the dangers of clinics offering unproven therapies, we often take another step back when a celebrity essentially endorses the idea.

So that’s why we are taking our message directly to the people, as often as we can and wherever we can.

In June we are going to be holding a free, public event in Los Angeles to coincide with the opening of the International Society for Stem Cell Research’s Annual Conference, the biggest event on the global stem cell calendar. There’s still time to register for that by the way. The event is from 6-7pm on Tuesday, June 25^th in Petree Hall C., at the Los Angeles Convention Center at 1201 South Figueroa Street, LA 90015.

The event is open to everyone and it’s FREE. We have created an Eventbrite page where you can get all the details and RSVP if you are coming.

It’s going to be an opportunity to learn about the real progress being made in stem cell research, thanks in no small part to CIRM’s funding. We’re honored to be joined by UCLA’s Dr. Don Kohn, who has helped cure dozens of children born with a fatal immune system disorder called severe combined immunodeficiency, also known as “bubble baby disease”. And we’ll hear from the family of one of those children whose life he helped save.

And because CIRM is due to run out of money to fund new projects by the end of this year you’ll also learn about the very real concerns we have about the future of stem cell research in California and what can be done to address those concerns. It promises to be a fascinating evening.

But that’s not all. Our partners at USC will be holding another public event on stem cell research, on Wednesday June 26^th from 6.30p to 8pm. This one is focused on treatments for age-related blindness. This features some of the top stem cell scientists in the field who are making encouraging progress in not just slowing down vision loss, but in some cases even reversing it.

You can find out more about that event here.

We know that we face some serious challenges in trying to educate people about the risks of going to a clinic offering unproven therapies. But we also know we have a great story to tell, one that shows how we are already changing lives and saving lives, and that with the support of the people of California we’ll do even more in the years to come.