Sickle shaped red blood cells The University of California, San Francisco (UCSF), in collaboration with UC Berkeley (UCB) and UC Los Angeles (UCLA), have been given permission by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to launch a first-in-human clinical trial using CRISPR technology as a gene-editing technique to cure Sickle Cell Disease. This research … Continue reading Three UC’s Join Forces to Launch CRISPR Clinical Trial Targeting Sickle Cell Disease
Month: March 2021
Prime Time for Rocket
Rocket Pharmaceuticals, a company that specializes in developing genetic therapies for rare childhood disorders, just got a big boost from the European Medicines Agency (EMA). They were given a Priority Medicines (PRIME) designation for their therapy for Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency-1 (LAD-1). CIRM is funding ($6.56 million) Rocket’s clinical trial for LAD-I, an immune disorder that … Continue reading Prime Time for Rocket
CIRM funding helps identify potential COVID-19 treatment
The steps of the virus growth cycle that can be targeted with therapies: The virus enters a host cell (1), the virus's genetic instructions are released, taking over cellular machinery (2), the virus is replicated within the cell (3) and copies of the virus exit the cell in search of new host cells to infect … Continue reading CIRM funding helps identify potential COVID-19 treatment
Hitting our Goals: Scoring a half century
Way, way back in 2015 – seems like a lifetime ago doesn’t it – the team at CIRM sat down and planned out our Big 6 goals for the next five years. The end result was a Strategic Plan that was bold, ambitious and set us on course to do great things or kill ourselves … Continue reading Hitting our Goals: Scoring a half century
Newly designed “bioink” get us one step closer to 3D printed organs
3D bioprinted small airways made out of two cell types (blue and yellow) remain open over time. 3D printing technology has revolutionized the way we think about creating things with complex designs with the simple click of a button. The ability to be able to give a computer a specific set of instructions and hit … Continue reading Newly designed “bioink” get us one step closer to 3D printed organs
Going the extra mile to save a patient’s life
You can tell an awful lot about a company by the people it hires and the ability it gives them to do their job in an ethical, principled way. By that measure Rocket Pharma is a pretty darn cool company. Rocket Pharma is running a CIRM-funded clinical trial for Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency-I (LAD-I), a rare … Continue reading Going the extra mile to save a patient’s life
Hitting our goals: regulatory reform
Way, way back in 2015 – seems like a lifetime ago doesn’t it – the team at CIRM sat down and planned out our Big 6 goals for the next five years. The end result was a Strategic Plan that was bold, ambitious and set us on course to do great things or kill ourselves … Continue reading Hitting our goals: regulatory reform
Study shows reduction in brain injury after stroke patients were treated with their own stem cells
Illustration showing the mechanism of an ischemic stroke. In an ischemic stroke, blood supply to part of the brain is decreased, leading to dysfunction of that area of the brain. Here, a blood clot is the reason for restricted blood flow. Stroke is the third leading cause of death and serious long-term disability and affects … Continue reading Study shows reduction in brain injury after stroke patients were treated with their own stem cells
Women who have changed, and are changing, the world
The problem with trying to write about something like Women’s History Month is where do you start? Even if you narrow it down to women in science the list is vast. Marie Curie I suppose you could always start with Maria Salomea Skłodowska who is better known as Marie Curie. She not only discovered radium … Continue reading Women who have changed, and are changing, the world
A Match Made in Heaven, if heaven were in Oakland!
The Matchmaker - by Gerrit van Honthorst Throughout history, matchmakers have played an important role in bringing together couples for arranged marriages. Fast forward to today and CIRM is now playing a similar role. We’re not looking to get anyone hitched, what we are trying to do is create partnerships between people we are funding … Continue reading A Match Made in Heaven, if heaven were in Oakland!
The Stem Cellar 