Throwback Thursday: Progress towards a cure for HIV/AIDS

Welcome to our “Throwback Thursday” series on the Stem Cellar. Over the years, we’ve accumulated an arsenal of exciting stem cell stories about advances towards stem cell-based cures for serious diseases. Today we’re featuring stories about the progress of CIRM-funded research and clinical trials that are aimed at developing stem cell-based treatments for HIV/AIDS.  Tomorrow, … Continue reading Throwback Thursday: Progress towards a cure for HIV/AIDS

Inspiring the next generation of stem cell scientists

“The technological breakthroughs that will be happening over the next few years – it’s your generation of scientists that will make this happen.” Dr. John Zaia, the Director of City of Hope’s Center for Gene Therapy, directed these words to a group of 55 talented high school students attending the 2017 CIRM SPARK meeting. SPARK … Continue reading Inspiring the next generation of stem cell scientists

Turning the corner with the FDA and NIH; CIRM creates new collaborations to advance stem cell research

This blog is part of the Month of CIRM series on the Stem Cellar A lot can change in a couple of years. Just take our relationship with the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). When we were putting together our Strategic Plan in 2015 we did a survey of key players and stakeholders at … Continue reading Turning the corner with the FDA and NIH; CIRM creates new collaborations to advance stem cell research

The Alpha Stem Cell Clinics: Innovation for Breakthrough Stem Cell Treatments

During this third week of the Month of CIRM, we are focusing on CIRM’s Infrastructure programs which are all focused on helping to accelerate stem cell treatments to patients with unmet medical needs. So here is the question of the day: What is the world’s largest network of medical centers dedicated to providing stem cell … Continue reading The Alpha Stem Cell Clinics: Innovation for Breakthrough Stem Cell Treatments

Building California’s stem cell research community, from the ground up

For week three of the Month of CIRM, our topic is infrastructure. What is infrastructure? Read on for a big picture overview and then we’ll fill in the details over the course of the week. When CIRM was created in 2001, our goal was to grow the stem cell research field in California. But to … Continue reading Building California’s stem cell research community, from the ground up

CIRM-Funded Clinical Trials Targeting Blood and Immune Disorders

This blog is part of our Month of CIRM series, which features our Agency’s progress towards achieving our mission to accelerate stem cell treatments to patients with unmet medical needs. This week, we’re highlighting CIRM-funded clinical trials to address the growing interest in our rapidly expanding clinical portfolio. Today we are featuring trials in our blood and … Continue reading CIRM-Funded Clinical Trials Targeting Blood and Immune Disorders

CIRM-Funded Clinical Trials Targeting Cancers

Welcome to the Month of CIRM! As we mentioned in last Thursday’s blog, during the month of October we’ll be looking back at what CIRM has done since the agency was created by the people of California back in 2004. To start things off, we’ll be focusing on CIRM-funded clinical trials this week. Supporting clinical … Continue reading CIRM-Funded Clinical Trials Targeting Cancers

CIRM Board Appoints Dr. Maria Millan as President and CEO

Yesterday was a big day for CIRM. Our governing Board convened for its September ICOC meeting and appointed Dr. Maria Millan as our new President and CEO. Dr. Millan has been serving as the Interim President/CEO since July, replacing former President Dr. Randal Mills. Dr. Millan has been at CIRM since 2012 and was instrumental … Continue reading CIRM Board Appoints Dr. Maria Millan as President and CEO

Stem Cell Stories That Caught our Eye: Duchenne muscular dystrophy and short telomeres, motor neurons from skin, and students today, stem cell scientists tomorrow

Short telomeres associated with Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy. Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD) is a severe muscle wasting disease that typically affects young men. There is no cure for DMD and the average life expectancy is 26. These are troubling facts that scientists at the University of Pennsylvania are hoping to change with their recent findings in … Continue reading Stem Cell Stories That Caught our Eye: Duchenne muscular dystrophy and short telomeres, motor neurons from skin, and students today, stem cell scientists tomorrow

CIRM Alpha Clinics Network charts a new course for delivering stem cell treatments

Sometimes it feels like finding a cure is the easy part; getting it past all the hurdles it must overcome to be able to reach patients is just as big a challenge. Fortunately, a lot of rather brilliant minds are hard at work to find the most effective ways of doing just that. Last week, … Continue reading CIRM Alpha Clinics Network charts a new course for delivering stem cell treatments