Evie Vaccaro: Photo courtesy Nancy Ramos Three families battling a life-threatening immune disorder got some great news last week. A clinical trial that could save the life of their child has once again been given the go-ahead by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The clinical trial is the work of UCLA’s Dr. Don … Continue reading Bubble baby treatment cleared to restart clinical trial
bioengineering
Making transplants easier for kids, and charting a new approach to fighting solid tumors.
Every year California performs around 100 kidney transplants in children but, on average, around 50 of these patients will have their body reject the transplant. These children then have to undergo regular dialysis while waiting for a new organ. Even the successful transplants require a lifetime of immunosuppression medications. These medications can prevent rejection but … Continue reading Making transplants easier for kids, and charting a new approach to fighting solid tumors.
Reasons to be thankful this Thanksgiving: creative nerds
We at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. We get to work with some extraordinary colleagues, we get to know some remarkable patient advocates who are pioneers in volunteering for stem cell and gene therapies, and we have a front row seat in a movement that … Continue reading Reasons to be thankful this Thanksgiving: creative nerds
Sweet 16 and counting for stem cell clinical trial
Dr. Judy Shizuru: Photo courtesy Jasper Therapeutics Over the years the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has invested a lot in helping children born with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), a fatal immune disorder. And we have seen great results with some researchers reporting a 95 percent success rate in curing these children. Now there’s … Continue reading Sweet 16 and counting for stem cell clinical trial
CIRM Board Approves Funding for New Clinical Trial Targeting Brain Tumors
The governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has awarded almost $12 million to carry out a clinical trial targeting brain tumors. This brings the total number of CIRM funded clinical trials to 83. $11,999,984 was awarded to Dr. Jana Portnow at the Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope. They are using Neural stem … Continue reading CIRM Board Approves Funding for New Clinical Trial Targeting Brain Tumors
Developing a natural killer for cancer
Lili Yang UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center: Photo courtesy Reed Hutchinson PhotoGraphics When Lili Yang was studying for her PhD she approached her mentor, the Nobel Laureate Dr. David Baltimore, and told him she was thinking about writing her thesis on a combination of gene therapy, immunotherapy and stem cell therapy. She says he … Continue reading Developing a natural killer for cancer
Pioneering a new approach to HIV/AIDS
Dr. Steven Deeks. Photo courtesy UCSF I’ve always been impressed by the willingness of individuals to step forward and volunteer for a clinical trial. Even more so when they are the first person ever to test a first-in-human therapy. They really are pioneers in helping advance a whole new approach to treating disease. That’s certainly … Continue reading Pioneering a new approach to HIV/AIDS
How the Tooth Fairy is helping unlock the secrets of autism
Our 2021-22 Annual Report is now online. It’s filled with information about the work we have done over the last year (we are on a fiscal calendar year from July 1 – June 30), the people who have helped us do that work, and some of the people who have benefited from that work. One … Continue reading How the Tooth Fairy is helping unlock the secrets of autism
So far, some encouraging news for stem cell clinical trial treating epilepsy
Neurona Therapeutics is testing a new therapy for a drug-resistant form of epilepsy and has just released some encouraging early findings. The first patient treated went from having more than 30 seizures a month to just four seizures over a three-month period. This clinical trial, funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), is … Continue reading So far, some encouraging news for stem cell clinical trial treating epilepsy
Funding a Clinical Trial for a Functional Cure for HIV
The use of antiretroviral drugs has turned HIV/AIDS from a fatal disease to one that can, in many cases in the US, be controlled. But these drugs are not a cure. That's why the governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) voted to approve investing $6.85 million in a therapy that aims … Continue reading Funding a Clinical Trial for a Functional Cure for HIV
The Stem Cellar 