Winner of Beast Games becomes champion for his son’s rare disease

Written by Holly Alyssa MacCormick You can do a lot with $10 million. Yet, when Jeffrey Randall Allen won the largest prize in game show history on Amazon Prime Video’s Beast Games there was only one thing he wanted to spend his $10 million on—research that might help find a cure for his son’s rare … Continue reading Winner of Beast Games becomes champion for his son’s rare disease

20 Years of CIRM: Building the Workforce

In celebration of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)’s 20th anniversary, we have been reflecting on some of the early projects we supported and their outcomes.Today, we’re looking at our first set of grants, which we awarded in 2006 to support training programs for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Not long after, CIRM began … Continue reading 20 Years of CIRM: Building the Workforce

20 Years of CIRM: The evolution of a CIRM-funded therapy for macular degeneration

Image Credit: University of Southern California (USC) Eye Institute In celebration of CIRM’s 20th anniversary, we are reflecting on some of the early projects we supported that have since advanced to clinical trials.  One such trial for a form of blindness originated with a 2007 SEED grant to David Hinton, MD, of the University of … Continue reading 20 Years of CIRM: The evolution of a CIRM-funded therapy for macular degeneration

20 Years of CIRM: From building the infrastructure to clinical trials 

Twenty years ago, Californians voted in favor of Proposition 71, which allocated $3 billion to support stem cell research and created the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). In 2020, Proposition 14 passed, providing an additional $5.5 billion. CIRM will reflect on the past two decades, highlighting early research that has evolved into potential therapies, … Continue reading 20 Years of CIRM: From building the infrastructure to clinical trials 

Bridging the Gap: CIRM Tackles Cell and Gene Therapy Manufacturing Challenges

CIRM Manufacturing Network Symposium attendees. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) is driving conversations and collaboration to address the manufacturing challenges of cell and gene therapies (CGT). CIRM hosted its inaugural Manufacturing Network Symposium in South San Francisco, bringing together more than 100 experts and stakeholders from the regenerative medicine field, including scientific leaders … Continue reading Bridging the Gap: CIRM Tackles Cell and Gene Therapy Manufacturing Challenges

World AIDS Day at the 3rd Annual Timothy Ray Brown Community Cure Symposium

Event recap written by guest writer Jacqueline Hantgan, CIRM Sr. Outreach Advisor for Outreach and Advocacy December is HIV/AIDS Awareness Month. To commemorate this important event, CIRM recently supported the 3rd Annual Timothy Ray Brown Community Cure Symposium which took place at the Palm Springs Art Museum on World AIDS Day−December 1, 2024. It was … Continue reading World AIDS Day at the 3rd Annual Timothy Ray Brown Community Cure Symposium

How California is advancing our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease using stem cells 

Over 14,000 people in Fresno County are living with Alzheimer's, and it’s estimated that more than 720,000 people are living with the brain disorder in California.   That’s why the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)—a state of California agency dedicated to funding regenerative medicine research—joined the Alzheimer's Association Walk to End Alzheimer’s in Fresno/Madera to … Continue reading How California is advancing our understanding of Alzheimer’s disease using stem cells 

CIRM Showcases Strategic Vision and New Initiatives at 7th Annual Alpha Clinics Network Symposium 

Leveraging CIRM Infrastructure to Improve Accessibility Panel - From left to right: Noah Federman, MD (moderator), Catriona Jamieson, MD, PhD, Mehrdad Abedi, MD, Daniela Bota, MD, PhD, Thomas Buchanan, MD, Brian Fury, MS, Dhruv Sareen, PhD, and Taby Ahsan, PhD The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) recently sponsored the 7th Annual CIRM Alpha Clinics … Continue reading CIRM Showcases Strategic Vision and New Initiatives at 7th Annual Alpha Clinics Network Symposium 

Inaugural UC San Diego Gene Therapy Initiative Symposium is fueling progress in the field 

There was no shortage of enthusiasm at the inaugural UC San Diego Gene Therapy Initiative Symposium hosted at the Roth Auditorium at the prestigious Sanford Consortium, where researchers, clinicians, academia, industry, and patient advocates shared discoveries in gene therapy, a modern-day treatment that’s revolutionizing medicine.CIRM was a platinum sponsor of the event.The gene therapy field … Continue reading Inaugural UC San Diego Gene Therapy Initiative Symposium is fueling progress in the field 

Next Generation of Regenerative Medicine Scientists and the Golden Era of Biomedical Innovation

CIRM CEO and President, Jonathan 'JT' Thomas speaking in front of conference attendees. During the first-ever California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Trainee Networking Conference, more than 400 students and postdoctoral fellows from CIRM's Bridges, COMPASS, and Scholars programs gathered from different parts of California for a three-day event at the University of Southern California … Continue reading Next Generation of Regenerative Medicine Scientists and the Golden Era of Biomedical Innovation