Image source: Shutterstock Nearly one million people in the U.S. are living with Parkinson’s disease, which causes progressive symptoms including tremors, stiffness, and gait and balance issues. Although there are medications to treat symptoms, the disease has no cure. To date, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has invested more than $109 million in … Continue reading New gene therapy aims to restore function in early-onset Parkinson’s
Month: April 2025
How a childhood condition sparked a career in regenerative medicine
CIRM Scholar Dongwei Sun, PhD (left), with his mentor Huinan Liu, PhD, professor of bioengineering at the University of California, Riverside. As a child, Dongwei Sun underwent a medical treatment that left his lower limbs weak and occasionally numb. "This inspired my dedication to develop biomedical technologies that can prevent, treat, and potentially cure debilitating … Continue reading How a childhood condition sparked a career in regenerative medicine
Diving into a new era of treatment: A patient’s journey with an epilepsy stem cell therapy
Justin Graves diving by the Grand Cayman Islands In 2007, Justin Graves was working at a SCUBA shop in Louisville, Kentucky, when he had his first epileptic seizure. "SCUBA diving has just been something I've loved my whole life," he said. "My whole family loves it." Justin had to give up diving as well as … Continue reading Diving into a new era of treatment: A patient’s journey with an epilepsy stem cell therapy
Filling gaps in federal research funding with a focus on neurological diseases
Over the past 20 years, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has supercharged research in California in ways that have often filled gaps in federal research funding. This has been true since CIRM was founded in 2004, and federal funding for embryonic stem cell research was extremely hard to come by. Now, given current … Continue reading Filling gaps in federal research funding with a focus on neurological diseases
20 Years of CIRM: From building the infrastructure to clinical trials
Twenty years ago, Californians voted in favor of Proposition 71, which allocated $3 billion to support stem cell research and created the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). In 2020, Proposition 14 passed, providing an additional $5.5 billion. CIRM will reflect on the past two decades, highlighting early research that has evolved into potential therapies, … Continue reading 20 Years of CIRM: From building the infrastructure to clinical trials
The Stem Cellar 