This blog is part of the Month of CIRM series Speeding up the way you do things isn’t always a good idea. Just ask someone who got a ticket for going 65mph in a 30mph zone. But at CIRM we have found that doing things at an accelerated pace is paying off in a big … Continue reading Getting faster, working smarter: how changing the way we work is paying big dividends
CIRM 2.0
Streamlining Stem Cell Therapy Development for Impatient Patients
During this third week of the Month of CIRM, we are focusing on CIRM’s Infrastructure programs which are all focused on helping to accelerate stem cell treatments to patients with unmet medical needs. Time is money. It’s a cliché but still very true, especially in running a business. The longer it takes to get things … Continue reading Streamlining Stem Cell Therapy Development for Impatient Patients
Confusing cancer to kill it
Confusion is not a state of mind that we usually seek out. Being bewildered is bad enough when it happens naturally, so why would anyone actively pursue it? But now some researchers are doing just that, using confusion to not just block a deadly blood cancer, but to kill it. Today the CIRM Board approved … Continue reading Confusing cancer to kill it
Stem cell agency funds Phase 3 clinical trial for Lou Gehrig’s disease
At CIRM we don’t have a disease hierarchy list that we use to guide where our funding goes. We don’t rank a disease by how many people suffer from it, if it affects children or adults, or how painful it is. But if we did have that kind of hierarchy you can be sure that … Continue reading Stem cell agency funds Phase 3 clinical trial for Lou Gehrig’s disease
CIRM-funded stem cell clinical trial for spinal cord injury expands patient recruitment
It’s always great to start the week off with some good news. Today we learned that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has given Asterias Biotherapeutics approval to expand the number and type of people with spinal cord injuries that it treats in their CIRM-funded clinical trial. Up till now, Asterias has been treating people … Continue reading CIRM-funded stem cell clinical trial for spinal cord injury expands patient recruitment
Emotions and gratitude at changing of the guard at Stem Cell Agency
Randy, as regular readers of this blog know, is, or rather was, the President and CEO of CIRM. James Harrison is less well known to the outside world but his imprint on CIRM, as our General Counsel and one of the key figures behind Proposition 71, is even bigger than that of Randy’s. Randy came … Continue reading Emotions and gratitude at changing of the guard at Stem Cell Agency
Bridging the divide: stem cell students helping families with rare diseases become partners in research
Sometimes it’s the simplest things that make the biggest impact. For example, introducing a scientist to a patient can help them drive stem cell research forward faster than either one could do on their own. Want proof? This year, students in CIRM’s Bridges to Stem Cell Research and Therapy program at California State University (CSU) … Continue reading Bridging the divide: stem cell students helping families with rare diseases become partners in research
Stem Cells Profile in Courage: Pat Furlong, Patient Advocate
One of the true joys for me in helping put together this year’s Annual Report was getting to know the patients and patient advocates that we profiled in the report. These are some extraordinary individuals and the short profiles we posted only touch the surface of just how extraordinary. So, over the next few weeks … Continue reading Stem Cells Profile in Courage: Pat Furlong, Patient Advocate
Cured by Stem Cells
To get anywhere you need a good map, and you need to check it constantly to make sure you are still on the right path and haven’t strayed off course. A year ago the CIRM Board gave us a map, a Strategic Plan, that laid out our course for the next five years. Our Annual … Continue reading Cured by Stem Cells
California’s stem cell agency rounds up the year with two more big hits
It’s traditional to end the year with a look back at what you hoped to accomplish and an assessment of what you did. By that standard 2016 has been a pretty good year for us at CIRM. Yesterday our governing Board approved funding for two new clinical trials, one to help kidney transplant patients, the … Continue reading California’s stem cell agency rounds up the year with two more big hits
The Stem Cellar 