When people ask me what I do at CIRM I sometimes half-jokingly tell them that I’m the official translator: I take complex science and turn it into everyday English. That’s important. The taxpayers of California have a right to know how their money is being spent and how it might benefit them. But that message … Continue reading Explaining COVID can be a pitch
Month: September 2020
Stanford scientists link problems in nerve cells to schizophrenia
A spherical cluster of hundreds of thousands of brain cells cultured in a lab dish. A team of researchers studied such neuronal clusters to better understand schizophrenia.Image Credit: Pasca lab The neurological origins of mental illness continue to remain a mystery and along with it any potential treatments for these conditions. However, Dr. Sergiu Pasca … Continue reading Stanford scientists link problems in nerve cells to schizophrenia
It’s all about the patients
Ronnie, born with a fatal immune disorder now leading a normal life thanks to a CIRM-funded stem cell/gene therapy: Photo courtesy of his mum Upasana Whenever you are designing something new you always have to keep in mind who the end user is. You can make something that works perfectly fine for you, but if … Continue reading It’s all about the patients
Scientists create “drug-like” chemical that may inhibit pancreatic cancer stem cells
John R. Cashman, Ph.D. Supreme Court justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg's death this past week after battling stage 4 pancreatic cancer is a grim reminder of how aggressive the disease can be. In fact, pancreatic cancer will soon be the second leading cause of cancer-related death for individuals in the United States. Unfortunately, it is known … Continue reading Scientists create “drug-like” chemical that may inhibit pancreatic cancer stem cells
CIRM-funded kidney transplant procedure eyeing faster approval
Kidney transplant surgery. Medeor Therapeutics, which is running a CIRM-funded clinical trial to help people getting kidney transplants, just got some really good news. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just granted their product Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation. That’s a big deal because it means they may be able to apply … Continue reading CIRM-funded kidney transplant procedure eyeing faster approval
CIRM-funded treatment for cancer granted FDA breakthrough therapy designation
Mark Chao, M.D., Ph.D., cofounder of Forty Seven, Inc. and current VP of oncology clinical research at Gilead Sciences An antibody therapeutic, magrolimab, being tested for myelodysplastic syndrome (MDS), a group of cancers in which the bone marrow does not produce enough healthy blood cells , was granted breakthrough therapy designation with the Food and Drug Administration … Continue reading CIRM-funded treatment for cancer granted FDA breakthrough therapy designation
Scientists develop faster, smarter way to classify tumors using single-cell technology
Dr. Stephen Lin, CIRM Senior Science Officer By Dr. Stephen Lin Single-cell. It is the new buzzword in biology. Single-cell biology refers to the in-depth characterization of individual cells in an organ or similar microenvironment. Every organ, like the brain or heart, is composed of thousands to millions of cells. Single-cell biology breaks those organs … Continue reading Scientists develop faster, smarter way to classify tumors using single-cell technology
Charting a new course for stem cell research
What are the latest advances in stem cell research targeting cancer? Can stem cells help people battling COVID-19 or even help develop a vaccine to stop the virus? What are researchers and the scientific community doing to help address the unmet medical needs of underserved communities? Those are just a few of the topics being … Continue reading Charting a new course for stem cell research
Graphite Bio launches and will prepare for clinical trial based on CIRM-funded research
Josh Lehrer, M.D., CEO of Graphite Bio This week saw the launch of the 45th startup company enabled by CIRM funding of translational research at California academic institutions. Graphite Bio officially launched with the help of $45M in funding led by bay area venture firms Versant Ventures and Samsara BioCapital to spinout a novel CRISPR … Continue reading Graphite Bio launches and will prepare for clinical trial based on CIRM-funded research
Building a progressive pipeline
Dr. Kelly Shepard By Dr. Kelly Shepard One of our favorite things to do at CIRM is deliver exciting news about CIRM projects. This usually entails discussion of recent discoveries that made headlines, or announcing the launch of a new CIRM-funded clinical trial …. tangible signs of progress towards addressing unmet medical needs through advances … Continue reading Building a progressive pipeline
The Stem Cellar 