Bob Klein Anyone who knows anything about CIRM knows about Bob Klein. He's the main author and driving force behind both Proposition 71 and Proposition 14, the voter-approved ballot initiatives that first created and then refunded CIRM. It's safe to say that without Bob, there'd be no CIRM. Recently, we had the great good fortune … Continue reading A conversation with Bob Klein about the past, present, and future of CIRM
News
Retooling a COVID drug to boost its effectiveness
Coronavirus particles, illustration. When the COVID-19 pandemic broke out scientists scrambled to find existing medications that might help counter the life-threatening elements of the virus. One of the first medications that showed real promise was remdesivir. It’s an anti-viral drug that was originally developed to target novel, emerging viruses, viruses like COVID19. It was approved … Continue reading Retooling a COVID drug to boost its effectiveness
How regrowing tiny hairs could restore hearing loss
Man getting fitted with hearing aids Hearing loss is something that affect tens of millions of Americans. Usually people notice those changes as they get older but the damage can be done years before that through the use of some prescription drugs or exposure to loud noise (I knew I shouldn’t have sat in the … Continue reading How regrowing tiny hairs could restore hearing loss
A rare chance to help those in need
Recently the CIRM Board voted to support the creation of a Rare Disease Advisory Council (RDAC) in California. An RDAC is an advisory body providing a platform for the rare community to have a stronger voice in state government. They address the needs of rare patients and families by giving stakeholders an opportunity to make … Continue reading A rare chance to help those in need
Building a new mouse, one stem cell at a time
Science is full of acronyms. There are days where it feels like you need a decoder ring just to understand a simple sentence. A recent study found that between 1950 and 2019 researchers used more than 1.1 million unique acronyms in scientific papers. There’s even an acronym for three letter acronyms. It’s TLAs. Which of … Continue reading Building a new mouse, one stem cell at a time
Gene therapy is life-changing for children with a life-threatening brain disorder
If you have never heard of AADC deficiency count yourself lucky. It’s a rare, incurable condition that affects only around 135 children worldwide but it’s impact on those children and their families is devastating. The children can’t speak, can’t feed themselves or hold up their head, they have severe mood swings and often suffer from … Continue reading Gene therapy is life-changing for children with a life-threatening brain disorder
A new way to evade immune rejection in transplanting cells
Immune fluorescence of HIP cardiomyocytes in a dish; Photo courtesy of UCSF Transplanting cells or an entire organ from one person to another can be lifesaving but it comes with a cost. To avoid the recipient’s body rejecting the cells or organ the patient has to be given powerful immunosuppressive medications. Those medications weaken the … Continue reading A new way to evade immune rejection in transplanting cells
Hollywood and Patient Advocacy – two people who are on our Board but never boring
At first glance, Lauren Miller Rogen and David Higgins, PhD, seem an unlikely pair. She’s an actor, writer, and director and has worked with some of the biggest names in Hollywood. He has a doctorate in molecular biology and genetics and has worked at some of the most well-known companies in biotech. But together they … Continue reading Hollywood and Patient Advocacy – two people who are on our Board but never boring
We’ve got cash, here’s how you can get some
When the voters of California approved Proposition 14 last November (thanks folks) they gave us $5.5 billion to continue the work we started way back in 2014. It’s a great honor, and a great responsibility. It’s also a great opportunity to look at what we do and how we do it and try to come … Continue reading We’ve got cash, here’s how you can get some
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
The Stem Cellar 