A CIRM Bridges trainee’s unconventional path into regenerative medicine

Image Credit: Gladstone Institutes Josh Nelson, a CIRM Bridges trainee, didn't experience a straightforward path into regenerative medicine. For 20 years, Josh worked in entertainment as a technical director for various theaters in California. Though his career had its exciting moments, it ultimately wasn't fulfilling for him, and he felt that his scientific acumen and … Continue reading A CIRM Bridges trainee’s unconventional path into regenerative medicine

CIRM awards $25 million for discovery and clinical research, infrastructure programs

Stock image of a researcher The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has recently approved awarding $25 million to fund multiple projects across discovery research, clinical research, and infrastructure programs.This funding will support 11 projects under CIRM's Foundation Awards Program, which aims to drive rigorous studies addressing critical basic knowledge gaps in the biology of … Continue reading CIRM awards $25 million for discovery and clinical research, infrastructure programs

A better, faster, more effective way to edit genes

Clinical fellow Brian Shy talks with postdoctoral scholar Tori Yamamoto in the Marson Lab at Gladstone Institutes on June 8th, 2022. Photo courtesy Gladstone Institutes. For years scientists have been touting the potential of CRISPR, a gene editing tool that allows you to target a specific mutation and either cut it out or replace it … Continue reading A better, faster, more effective way to edit genes

Stem Cell Agency Board Invests in 19 Discovery Research Programs Targeting Cancers, Heart Disease and Other Disorders

THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST Dr. Judy Shizuru, Stanford University While stem cell and gene therapy research has advanced dramatically in recent years, there are still many unknowns and many questions remaining about how best to use these approaches in developing therapies. That’s why the governing Board of the California Institute … Continue reading Stem Cell Agency Board Invests in 19 Discovery Research Programs Targeting Cancers, Heart Disease and Other Disorders

Can regenerative medicine turn back the clock on aging?

One of my favorite phrases is “standing room only”. I got a chance to use it last week when we held a panel discussion on whether regenerative medicine could turn back the clock on aging. The event was at the annual conference of the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) and more than 150 … Continue reading Can regenerative medicine turn back the clock on aging?

Join us to hear how stem cell and gene therapy are taking on diseases of aging

It is estimated that as many as 90 percent of people in industrialized countries who die every day, die from diseases of aging such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Of those still alive the numbers aren’t much more reassuring. More than 80 percent of people over the age of 65 have a chronic medical … Continue reading Join us to hear how stem cell and gene therapy are taking on diseases of aging

How some brilliant research may have uncovered a potential therapy for Alzheimer’s 

Dr. Nicole Koutsodendris, photo courtesy Gladstone Institutes In the world of scientific research, the people doing clinical trials tend to suck up all the oxygen in the room. They’re the stars, the ones who are bringing potential therapies to patients. However, there’s another group of researchers who toil away in the background, but who are … Continue reading How some brilliant research may have uncovered a potential therapy for Alzheimer’s 

Newly-developed organoid mimics how gut and heart tissues arise cooperatively from stem cells 

Gladstone Senior Investigator Todd McDevitt, PhD said this first-of-its-kind organoid could serve as a new tool for laboratory research and improve our understanding of how developing organs and tissues cooperate and instruct each other. 

Creating a diverse group of future scientists

Students in CIRM's Bridges program showing posters of their work If you have read the headlines lately, you’ll know that the COVID-19 pandemic is having a huge impact on the shipping industry. Container vessels are forced to sit out at anchor for a week or more because there just aren’t enough dock workers to unload … Continue reading Creating a diverse group of future scientists

Heads or tails? Stem cells help guide the decision

Two cell embryo There are many unknown elements for what triggers the cells in an embryo to start dividing and multiplying and becoming every single cell in the body. Now researchers at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco have uncovered one of those elements, how embryos determine which cells become the head and which the … Continue reading Heads or tails? Stem cells help guide the decision