Advancing Stem Cell Research at the CIRM Bridges Conference

Where will stem cell research be in 10 years? What would you say to patients who wanted stem cell therapies now? What are the most promising applications for stem cell research? Why is it important for the government to fund regenerative medicine? These challenging and thought-provoking questions were posed to a vibrant group of undergraduate … Continue reading Advancing Stem Cell Research at the CIRM Bridges Conference

Stem cell stories that caught our eye: fighting cancer, a cell’s neighborhood matters, funding next generation scientists

Here are some stem cell stories that caught our eye this past week. Some are groundbreaking science, others are of personal interest to us, and still others are just fun. Reprogramming skin to fight cancer. Earlier CIRM-funded research showed that adult nerve stem cells can home to the residual brain cancer left behind after surgery … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: fighting cancer, a cell’s neighborhood matters, funding next generation scientists

Training the Next Generation of Stem Cell Scientists

Nobel prize winners don’t come out of thin air, they were all young, impressionable kids at one point in time.  If you ask any award-winning scientists how they got into science research, many of them would likely tell you about an inspiring teacher, an encouraging parent, or a hands-on research opportunity that inspired or helped … Continue reading Training the Next Generation of Stem Cell Scientists

CIRM Scholar Spotlight: Matt Donne on Lung Stem Cells

CIRM has funded a number of educational and research training programs over the past ten years to give younger students and graduate/postdoc scholars the opportunity to explore stem cell science. Two of the main programs we support are the Bridges and the CIRM Scholars Training Program. These programs fund future scientists from an undergraduate to … Continue reading CIRM Scholar Spotlight: Matt Donne on Lung Stem Cells

Alzheimer’s Nightmare Spurs Comedy Fundraiser to Help Caregivers – New Video

You could have heard a pin drop in the auditorium. The audience of young stem cell researchers was gripped by every word of Lauren Miller’s heartbreaking story about the impact that Alzheimer’s disease has had on her family. Only a child when her grandfather was diagnosed with and later died of Alzheimer’s, she mistook his symptoms, … Continue reading Alzheimer’s Nightmare Spurs Comedy Fundraiser to Help Caregivers – New Video

Bridging the gap: training scientists to speak everyday English

Getting a start in your chosen career is never easy. Without experience it’s hard to get a job. And without a job you can’t get experience. That’s why the CIRM Bridges program was created, to help give undergraduate and Master’s level students a chance to get the experience they need to start a career in … Continue reading Bridging the gap: training scientists to speak everyday English

Improving process drives progress in stem cell research

Process is not a sexy word. No one gets excited thinking about improving a process. Yet behind every great idea, behind every truly effective program is someone who figured out a way to improve the process, to make that idea not just work, but work better. It’s not glamorous. Sometimes it’s not even pretty. But … Continue reading Improving process drives progress in stem cell research

What…exactly…do you do? How 12 year olds helped me learn how to talk about science

Jackie Ward is a graduate student at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD), and received a training grant from CIRM while studying for her PhD. At UCSD Jackie uses stem cells as a model to study rare neurodegenerative diseases in the lab of Albert La Spada. Her work as a PhD student focuses on … Continue reading What…exactly…do you do? How 12 year olds helped me learn how to talk about science

Bridging the gap: helping create a new generation of stem cell scientists

Inspiration comes in many different shapes and sizes, but when you see it there is no mistaking it. And when you meet and talk to the students in our Bridges program you find inspiration in each and every one of them.The program is designed to train the next generation of stem cell scientists, bridging (hence … Continue reading Bridging the gap: helping create a new generation of stem cell scientists