Rohan Upadhyay, CIRM SPARK student 2021 One of the most amazing parts of an amazing job is getting to know the students who take part in CIRM’s SPARK (Summer Program to Accelerate Regenerative Medicine Knowledge) program. It’s an internship giving high school students, that reflect the diversity of California, a chance to work in a … Continue reading Learning life lessons in the lab
Cedars-Sinai Medical Center
SPARKing the genius of the next generation of scientists
Dr. Kelly Shepard, SPARK program director After almost 18 months – and counting – that have put us all to the test, made us wear masks, work from home, limit contact with all but the closest of family and friends it’s a wonderful thing to be able to get a glimpse of the future and … Continue reading SPARKing the genius of the next generation of scientists
CIRM Board Approves New Clinical Trial for ALS
This past Friday the governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) awarded $11.99 million to Cedars-Sinai to fund a clinical trial for amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. ALS is a neurodegenerative disease that results in the death of nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord, causing … Continue reading CIRM Board Approves New Clinical Trial for ALS
You can’t take it if you don’t make it
Biomedical specialist Mamadou Dialio at work in the Cedars-Sinai Biomanufacturing Center. Photo by Cedars-Sinai. Following the race to develop a vaccine for COVID-19 has been a crash course in learning how complicated creating a new therapy is. It’s not just the science involved, but the logistics. Coming up with a vaccine that is both safe … Continue reading You can’t take it if you don’t make it
Meet the people who are changing the future
Kristin MacDonald Every so often you hear a story and your first reaction is “oh, I have to share this with someone, anyone, everyone.” That’s what happened to me the other day. I was talking with Kristin MacDonald, an amazing woman, a fierce patient advocate and someone who took part in a CIRM-funded clinical trial … Continue reading Meet the people who are changing the future
Stem Cell All-Stars, All For You
Dr. Larry Goldstein, UC San Diego It’s not often you get a chance to hear some of the brightest minds around talk about their stem cell research and what it could mean for you, me and everyone else. That’s why we’re delighted to be bringing some of the sharpest tools in the stem cell shed … Continue reading Stem Cell All-Stars, All For You
What to be thankful for this Thanksgiving: scientists hard at work
Biomedical technician Louis Pinedo feeds stem cells their special diet. Photo by Cedars-Sinai. With Thanksgiving and Black Friday approaching in the next couple of days, we wanted to give thanks to all the scientists hard at work during this holiday weekend. Science does not sleep--the groundbreaking research and experiments that are being conducted do not … Continue reading What to be thankful for this Thanksgiving: scientists hard at work
Stem Cell Agency Approves Funding for Clinical Trials Targeting Parkinson’s Disease and Blindness
The governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) yesterday invested $32.92 million to fund the Stem Cell Agency’s first clinical trial in Parkinson’s disease (PD), and to support three clinical trials targeting different forms of vision loss. This brings the total number of clinical trials funded by CIRM to 60. The PD … Continue reading Stem Cell Agency Approves Funding for Clinical Trials Targeting Parkinson’s Disease and Blindness
Mind altering, life changing experience in stem cell lab
This week we are featuring the best blogs from our SPARK (Summer Program to Accelerate Regenerative medicine Knowledge) students. SPARK gives high school students a chance to spend their summer working in a world class stem cell research facility here in California. In return they write about their experiences and what they learned. The blog … Continue reading Mind altering, life changing experience in stem cell lab
Next generation of stem cell scientists leave their mark
One of the favorite events of the year for the team here at CIRM is our annual SPARK (Summer Program to Accelerate Regenerative Medicine Knowledge) conference. This is where high school students, who spent the summer interning at world class stem cell research facilities around California, get to show what they learned. It’s always an … Continue reading Next generation of stem cell scientists leave their mark