California gets first royalty check from Stem Cell Agency investments

CIRM recently shared in a little piece of history. The first royalty check, based on CIRM’s investment in stem cell research, was sent to the California State Treasurer’s office from City of Hope. It’s the first of what we hope will be many such checks, helping repay, not just the investment the state made in … Continue reading California gets first royalty check from Stem Cell Agency investments

Novel approach to slowing deadly brain cancer stem cells may lead to new treatments

Glioblastoma, a form of brain cancer, is one of the most dreaded cancer diagnoses. Standard radiation and chemotherapy treatments for glioblastoma almost always prove ineffective because of the cancer’s ability to grow back. With their unlimited potential to self-renew, cancer stem cells within the brain tumor are thought to be responsible for its aggressive reoccurrence. … Continue reading Novel approach to slowing deadly brain cancer stem cells may lead to new treatments

The Journey of a Homegrown Stem Cell Research All-Star

Nothing makes a professional sports team prouder than its homegrown talent. Training and mentoring a promising, hard-working athlete who eventually helps carry the team to a championship can lift the spirits of an entire city. Here at CIRM, we hold a similar sense of pride in Brian Fury, one of our own homegrown all-stars. Nearly … Continue reading The Journey of a Homegrown Stem Cell Research All-Star

Patient’s Stage IV Cancer Held in Check by CIRM-Funded Clinical Trial [Video]

"In the last three scans, which I have every six weeks, they're showing that there is no mestastasis (invasive cancer) anywhere in my body. [The doctors] I guess were quite blown away because they didn't expect [the treatment] to be so quick or to be that complete."   Today we’re sharing the story of Tom … Continue reading Patient’s Stage IV Cancer Held in Check by CIRM-Funded Clinical Trial [Video]

Taking a new approach to fighting a deadly brain cancer

CIRM’s 2017 Annual Report will be going live online very soon. In anticipation of that we are highlighting some of the key elements from the report here on the Stem Cellar. One of the most exciting new approaches in targeting deadly cancers is chimeric antigen receptor (CAR) T-cell therapy, using the patient’s own immune system … Continue reading Taking a new approach to fighting a deadly brain cancer

Stem Cell RoundUp: CIRM Clinical Trial Updates & Mapping Human Brain

It was a very CIRMy news week on both the clinical trial and discovery research fronts. Here are some the highlights: Stanford cancer-fighting spinout to Genentech: 'Don't eat me' – San Francisco Business Times Ron Leuty, of the San Francisco Business Times, reported this week on not one, but two news releases from CIRM grantee … Continue reading Stem Cell RoundUp: CIRM Clinical Trial Updates & Mapping Human Brain

Recap of the 2018 Alliance for Regenerative Medicine Cell and Gene Therapy State of the Industry

What happened in the Cell and Gene Therapy sector in 2017, and what should we be looking out for in 2018? Over 500 executives, investors, scientists and patient advocates gathered together yesterday to find out at the Alliance for Regenerative Medicine (ARM) State of the Industry Briefing in San Francisco, California. ARM Chairman, Robert Preti, … Continue reading Recap of the 2018 Alliance for Regenerative Medicine Cell and Gene Therapy State of the Industry

Stem Cell Roundup: Gene therapy for diabetes, alcohol is bad for your stem cells and hairy skin

The start of a new year is the perfect opportunity to turn a new leaf. I myself have embraced 2018 with open arms and decided to join my fellow millennials who live and die by the acronym YOLO. How am I doing this? Well, so far, I got a new haircut, I started doing squats … Continue reading Stem Cell Roundup: Gene therapy for diabetes, alcohol is bad for your stem cells and hairy skin

How Tom Howing turned to stem cells to battle back against a deadly cancer

As we enter the new year, CIRM’s 2017 Annual Report will be posted in less than two weeks!  Here’s one of the people we are profiling in the report, a patient who took part in a CIRM-funded clinical trial. In March of 2015, Tom Howing was diagnosed with stage 4 cancer. Over the next 18 … Continue reading How Tom Howing turned to stem cells to battle back against a deadly cancer

Harnessing the body’s immune system to tackle cancer

Often on the Stem Cellar we write about work that is in a clinical trial. But getting research to that stage takes years and years of dedicated work. Over the next few months, we are profiling some of the scientists we fund who are doing Discovery (early stage) and Translational (pre-clinical) research, to highlight the … Continue reading Harnessing the body’s immune system to tackle cancer