Image of medulloblastoma Imagine sitting in the doctor's office and being told the heartbreaking news that your child has been diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor. As one might expect, the doctor states that the most effective treatment option is typically a combination of chemotherapy and radiation. However, the doctor reveals that there are additional … Continue reading Targeted treatment for pediatric brain tumors shows promising results
Disease Areas
CIRM-supported Type I Diabetes treatment enters clinical trials in Europe
ViaCyte, a company that CIRM has supported for many years, has announced international expansion of a clinical trial to test their therapeutic PEC-Direct product in patients with Type I Diabetes. The first European patient in Brussels was implanted with the PEC-Direct product candidate that, in animal models, is able to form functional beta cells. Patients … Continue reading CIRM-supported Type I Diabetes treatment enters clinical trials in Europe
Rare disease gets go-ahead to run clinical trial
Cystinosis is one of those diseases most people have never heard of and should be very grateful they haven't. It's rare - affecting only around 500 children and young adults in the US and just 2,000 people worldwide - but it's nasty. Up to now the treatments for it have been very limited. But a … Continue reading Rare disease gets go-ahead to run clinical trial
Using 3D printer to develop treatment for spinal cord injury
Spinal cord injuries (SCIs) affect approximately 300,000 Americans, with about 18,000 new cases occurring per year. One of these patients, Jake Javier, who we have written about many times over the past several years, received ten million stem cells as part of a CIRM-funded clinical trial and a video about his first year at Cal … Continue reading Using 3D printer to develop treatment for spinal cord injury
Stem Cells make the cover of National Geographic
National Geographic is one of those iconic magazines that everyone knows about but few people read. Which is a shame, because it's been around since 1888 and has helped make generations of readers aware about the world around them. And now, it's shifting gears and helping people know more about the world inside them. That's … Continue reading Stem Cells make the cover of National Geographic
The power of one voice: David Higgins’ role in advancing stem cell research
As we start a new year, we are fine tuning our soon-to-be-published 2018 Annual Report, summarizing our work over the past 12 months. The report is far more than just a collection of statistics about how many clinical trials we are funding (50 – not too shabby eh!) or that our support has generated an … Continue reading The power of one voice: David Higgins’ role in advancing stem cell research
The most popular Stem Cellar posts of 2018
You never know when you write something if people are going to read it. Sometimes you wonder if anyone is going to read it. So, it’s always fun, and educational, to look back at the end of the year and see which pieces got the most eyeballs. It isn’t always the ones you think will … Continue reading The most popular Stem Cellar posts of 2018
It’s not goodbye to Dr. Bert Lubin, it’s au revoir
Dr. Bert Lubin has been a fixture at UCSF Benioff Children's Hospital Oakland long before it was even called that. When he started there 43 years ago it was just a small community hospital and through his commitment to helping those in need he has helped build it into a remarkable institution. Over the years … Continue reading It’s not goodbye to Dr. Bert Lubin, it’s au revoir
Midwest universities are making important tools to advance stem cell research
Two Midwest universities are making headlines for their contributions to stem cell research. Both are developing important tools to advance this field of study, but in two unique ways. Scientists at the University of Michigan (UM), have compiled an impressive repository of disease-specific stem cell lines. Cell lines are crucial tools for scientists to study … Continue reading Midwest universities are making important tools to advance stem cell research
71 for Proposition 71
Proposition 71 is the state ballot initiative that created California's Stem Cell Agency. This month, the Agency reached another milestone when the 71st clinical trial was initiated in the CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinics (ASCC) Network. The ASCC Network deploys specialized teams of doctors, nurses and laboratory technicians to conduct stem cell clinical trials at … Continue reading 71 for Proposition 71
The Stem Cellar 