Blood stem cell transplantation following high dose chemotherapy is standard of care and potentially curative for aggressive forms of lymphoma. However, this treatment regimen is limited by severe toxicity and life-threatening complications due to delayed recovery of the blood system and vascular related damage of multiple organs. Today the governing Board of the California Institute … Continue reading CIRM funds clinical trial to make cancer therapy safer, less toxic
CIRM funded research
Tratando malformaciones congénitas antes del nacimiento
El bebé, Tobi recibió un tratamiento de células madre, financiado por el CIRM, mientras aún estaba en el útero. To read this blog in English, click here. Michelle y Jeff se llenaron de felicidad cuando se enteraron de que iban a tener un bebé. Luego, un examen de ultrasonido a las 20 semanas del embarazo … Continue reading Tratando malformaciones congénitas antes del nacimiento
Making transplants easier for kids, and charting a new approach to fighting solid tumors.
Every year California performs around 100 kidney transplants in children but, on average, around 50 of these patients will have their body reject the transplant. These children then have to undergo regular dialysis while waiting for a new organ. Even the successful transplants require a lifetime of immunosuppression medications. These medications can prevent rejection but … Continue reading Making transplants easier for kids, and charting a new approach to fighting solid tumors.
Reasons to be thankful this Thanksgiving: creative nerds
We at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine have a lot to be thankful for this Thanksgiving. We get to work with some extraordinary colleagues, we get to know some remarkable patient advocates who are pioneers in volunteering for stem cell and gene therapies, and we have a front row seat in a movement that … Continue reading Reasons to be thankful this Thanksgiving: creative nerds
Sweet 16 and counting for stem cell clinical trial
Dr. Judy Shizuru: Photo courtesy Jasper Therapeutics Over the years the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has invested a lot in helping children born with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID), a fatal immune disorder. And we have seen great results with some researchers reporting a 95 percent success rate in curing these children. Now there’s … Continue reading Sweet 16 and counting for stem cell clinical trial
Patient Advocacy is its own reward
It’s always nice to be told you are doing a good job. It’s even nicer when it’s unexpected. That’s certainly the case when we, the Communications Team at the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, found out we’d been named as a finalist for the Patient Advocacy Award (non-profit category) as part of the Phacilitate Advanced … Continue reading Patient Advocacy is its own reward
CIRM Board Approves Funding for New Clinical Trial Targeting Brain Tumors
The governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has awarded almost $12 million to carry out a clinical trial targeting brain tumors. This brings the total number of CIRM funded clinical trials to 83. $11,999,984 was awarded to Dr. Jana Portnow at the Beckman Research Institute of City of Hope. They are using Neural stem … Continue reading CIRM Board Approves Funding for New Clinical Trial Targeting Brain Tumors
Developing a natural killer for cancer
Lili Yang UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center: Photo courtesy Reed Hutchinson PhotoGraphics When Lili Yang was studying for her PhD she approached her mentor, the Nobel Laureate Dr. David Baltimore, and told him she was thinking about writing her thesis on a combination of gene therapy, immunotherapy and stem cell therapy. She says he … Continue reading Developing a natural killer for cancer
Pioneering a new approach to HIV/AIDS
Dr. Steven Deeks. Photo courtesy UCSF I’ve always been impressed by the willingness of individuals to step forward and volunteer for a clinical trial. Even more so when they are the first person ever to test a first-in-human therapy. They really are pioneers in helping advance a whole new approach to treating disease. That’s certainly … Continue reading Pioneering a new approach to HIV/AIDS
Apply by Nov. 8th for CIRM Discovery stage funding!
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) is pleased to announce a new opportunity within our current funding cycle for Discovery stage programs: the DISC0 Foundation Awards which focus on foundational and/or mechanistic research projects grounded in human biology and/or disease pathology. Projects funded through the Foundation Awards should propose impactful or innovative research that culminates in a discovery or technology that … Continue reading Apply by Nov. 8th for CIRM Discovery stage funding!