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
CIRM funded research
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!
CIRM-funding supports world’s first stem cell treatment for spina bifida delivered during fetal surgery
Dr. Diana Farmer (right) meets with Emily Lofton and her baby Robbie who had stem cell treatment for spina bifida in the womb. Photo: UC Davis Health The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) recently shared some encouraging news on The Stem Cellar about a CIRM-funded stem cell clinical trial for spina bifida at UC … Continue reading CIRM-funding supports world’s first stem cell treatment for spina bifida delivered during fetal surgery
State Stem Cell & Gene Therapy Agency Sets up Support Program to Help Patients Participate in Clinical Trials
For many patients battling deadly diseases, getting access to a clinical trial can be life-saving, but it can also be very challenging. Today the governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) approved a concept plan to make it financially and logistically easier for patients to take part in CIRM-funded clinical trials. The … Continue reading State Stem Cell & Gene Therapy Agency Sets up Support Program to Help Patients Participate in Clinical Trials
How the Tooth Fairy is helping unlock the secrets of autism
Our 2021-22 Annual Report is now online. It’s filled with information about the work we have done over the last year (we are on a fiscal calendar year from July 1 – June 30), the people who have helped us do that work, and some of the people who have benefited from that work. One … Continue reading How the Tooth Fairy is helping unlock the secrets of autism
So far, some encouraging news for stem cell clinical trial treating epilepsy
Neurona Therapeutics is testing a new therapy for a drug-resistant form of epilepsy and has just released some encouraging early findings. The first patient treated went from having more than 30 seizures a month to just four seizures over a three-month period. This clinical trial, funded by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), is … Continue reading So far, some encouraging news for stem cell clinical trial treating epilepsy
Funding a Clinical Trial for a Functional Cure for HIV
The use of antiretroviral drugs has turned HIV/AIDS from a fatal disease to one that can, in many cases in the US, be controlled. But these drugs are not a cure. That's why the governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) voted to approve investing $6.85 million in a therapy that aims … Continue reading Funding a Clinical Trial for a Functional Cure for HIV
Fast Track Designation for a therapy making transplants safer for children with a fatal immune disorder
Bone marrow transplant For children born with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) life can be very challenging. SCID means they have no functioning immune system, so even a simple infection can prove life threatening. Left untreated, children with SCID often die in the first few years of life. There are stem cell/gene therapies funded by the … Continue reading Fast Track Designation for a therapy making transplants safer for children with a fatal immune disorder
The race to cure sickle cell disease
September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month, a time to refocus our efforts to find new treatments, even a cure, for people with sickle cell disease. Until we get those, CIRM remains committed to doing everything we can to reduce the stigma and bias that surrounds it. Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a rare, inherited … Continue reading The race to cure sickle cell disease
How stem cells helped Veronica fight retinitis pigmentosa and regain her vision
Veronica and Elliott Growing up Veronica McDougall thought everyone saw the world the way she did; blurry, slightly out-of-focus and with tunnel vision. As she got older her sight got worse and even the strongest prescription glasses didn’t help. When she was 15 her brother tried teaching her to drive. One night she got into … Continue reading How stem cells helped Veronica fight retinitis pigmentosa and regain her vision
The Stem Cellar 