School is out which means SPARK is in for the summer!

It’s mid-June, which means that school’s out for the summer! While most students are cheering about their newfound freedom from the classroom, a special group of high school students are cheering about the start of the CIRM SPARK internship program. SPARK is CIRM’s high school educational program that gives students from underrepresented communities the opportunity … Continue reading School is out which means SPARK is in for the summer!

Don’t Be Afraid: High school stem cell researcher on inspiring girls to pursue STEM careers

As part of our CIRM scholar blog series, we’re featuring the research and career accomplishments of CIRM funded students. Shannon Larsuel is a high school senior at Mayfield Senior School in Pasadena California. Last summer, she participated in Stanford’s CIRM SPARK high school internship program and did stem cell research in a lab that studies … Continue reading Don’t Be Afraid: High school stem cell researcher on inspiring girls to pursue STEM careers

Life after SPARK: CIRM high school intern gets prestigious scholarship to Stanford

As part of our CIRM scholar blog series, we’re featuring the research and career accomplishments of CIRM funded students. Meet Ranya Odeh. She is a senior at Sheldon high school in Elk Grove, California, and a 2016 CIRM SPARK intern. The SPARK program provides stem cell research internships to underprivileged high school students at leading research … Continue reading Life after SPARK: CIRM high school intern gets prestigious scholarship to Stanford

Young Minds Shine Bright at the CIRM SPARK Conference

Yesterday was one of the most exciting and inspiring days I’ve had at CIRM since I joined the agency one year ago. We hosted the CIRM SPARK conference which brought together fifty-five high school students from across California to present their stem cell research from their summer internships. The day was a celebration of their … Continue reading Young Minds Shine Bright at the CIRM SPARK Conference

California high schoolers SPARK interest in stem cell research through social media

I have a job for you today and it’s a fun one. Open your Instagram app on your phone. If you’re not an Instagrammer, don’t worry, you can access the website on your computer. Do you have it open? OK now type in the hashtag #CIRMSparkLab and click on it. What you’ll find is around … Continue reading California high schoolers SPARK interest in stem cell research through social media

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

Creativity sparks a bright future for science

When some people want to see the future they use a crystal ball. Others use tarot cards or runes. But when anyone at CIRM wants to see the future all we have to do is look into the faces of the students in our Creativity program. Over the past three years the Creativity program has … Continue reading Creativity sparks a bright future for science

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