Emily Smith, CIRM Bridges student The California Institute for Regenerative (CIRM) has a number of education programs geared towards training the next generation of stem cell and gene therapy researchers. Each student comes to the program with their own motivation, their own reasons for wanting to be a scientist. This is Emily Smith's story. Surrounded … Continue reading A grandmother’s legacy, a stem cell scientist
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine
Life lessons learned in the CIRM summer intern program
SPARK poster session; Photo by Esteban Cortez When I was in high school I spent my summers working in a shoe shop and playing soccer with my mates. It never occurred to me that I could do something really worthwhile with that time. So, when I meet the high school students who took part in … Continue reading Life lessons learned in the CIRM summer intern program
[PHOTOS] California high school students celebrate regenerative medicine science at CIRM’s annual SPARK conference
We had a wonderful time meeting so many energetic and enthusiastic high school students at the 2022 SPARK Program annual conference hosted by UCSF at the MLK Research Building. The SPARK program is one of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s (CIRM) many programs dedicated to building a diverse and highly-skilled workforce to support the growing regenerative … Continue reading [PHOTOS] California high school students celebrate regenerative medicine science at CIRM’s annual SPARK conference
How CIRM contributed to City of Hope study helping man with HIV into long-term remission
The news that a stem cell transplant at City of Hope helped a man with HIV go into long-term remission made banner headlines around the world. As it should. It’s a huge achievement, particularly as the 66-year-old man had been living with HIV since 1988. What wasn’t reported was that work supported by the California … Continue reading How CIRM contributed to City of Hope study helping man with HIV into long-term remission
Stem Cell Agency funds clinical trial targeting scarred urethras
A urethral stricture is scarring of the tube that carries urine out of the body. If left untreated it can be intensely painful and lead to kidney stones and infections. That's why the governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) is investing more than $3.8 million in a Phase 1 clinical trial … Continue reading Stem Cell Agency funds clinical trial targeting scarred urethras
Fighting for his life and the lives of other stroke survivors
Sean Entin, stroke survivor and founder of Stroke Hacker The word "miraculous" gets tossed around a lot in the world of medicine, mostly by people who have made an unexpected recovery from a deadly or life-threatening condition. In Sean Entin's case calling his recovery from an almost-fatal stroke could be called miraculous, but I think … Continue reading Fighting for his life and the lives of other stroke survivors
The present and future of regenerative medicine
One of the great pleasures of my job is getting to meet the high school students who take part in our SPARK or Summer Internship to Accelerate Regenerative Medicine Knowledge program. It's a summer internship for high school students where they get to spend a couple of months working in a world class stem cell … Continue reading The present and future of regenerative medicine
Why people seek out unproven and potentially unsafe stem cell treatments
Every day I field phone calls and emails from people looking for a stem cell therapy to help them cope with everything from arthritis to cancer. Often, they will mention that they saw an ad for a clinic online or in a local newspaper claiming they had stem cell therapies that could help fix anything … Continue reading Why people seek out unproven and potentially unsafe stem cell treatments
A big deal for type 1 diabetes
It’s not often you get excited talking about company mergers, but a deal announced today is something worth getting excited about, particularly if you have type 1 diabetes (T1D). Today Vertex announced it was buying ViaCyte for $320 million in cash. Why is that important? Because both companies are working on developing stem cell therapies … Continue reading A big deal for type 1 diabetes
How CIRM’s Bridges internship program inspired this student to pursue a career in regenerative medicine
Samira Alwahabi For more than a decade, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has funded educational and research training programs to give students the opportunity to explore stem cell science right here in California. One such project—the Bridges to Stem Cell Research Program—helps train future generations of scientists by preparing undergraduate and master’s students … Continue reading How CIRM’s Bridges internship program inspired this student to pursue a career in regenerative medicine
The Stem Cellar 