CIRM honors the contributions of Fred Fisher, MSW, LCSW, a dedicated member of our Independent Citizens’ Oversight Committee (ICOC) and a passionate patient advocate. Fred passed away in September. He joined the ICOC as the ALS patient advocate in June 2021 and served in many roles, including co‑chair of the Standards Working Group and member … Continue reading Remembering CIRM board member and ALS patient advocate Fred Fisher
Patient Advocacy
Bringing a community together at the 2nd Annual ALSP Conference
In addition to funding innovative programs and research that accelerate the development of stem cell and gene therapy treatments, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) provides funding to support valuable mission-specific scientific conferences where people can meet to exchange scientific information to meet goals relevant to CIRM’s mission. Recently, CIRM supported the 2nd Annual … Continue reading Bringing a community together at the 2nd Annual ALSP Conference
Equipping California nurses with skills to support cell and gene therapy patients
Regenerative medicine is a rapidly evolving field. As more therapies reach commercialization and clinical trial stages, there remains an immediate need to equip direct patient care nurses with skills to support patients on complex clinical trials as well as novel standard-of-care therapies. To address this need and continue efforts to build a regenerative medicine workforce … Continue reading Equipping California nurses with skills to support cell and gene therapy patients
CIRM Approves Money for a Patient Support Program
Hataalii Tiisyatonii Begay (HT) participated in a CIRM-funded clinical trial at UCSF for Artemis-SCID, a condition that can be life-threatening or fatal. Photo courtesy Barbara Ries / UCSF. The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) supports cell and gene therapy research and educational programs to advance new treatments for people in the state. CIRM's commitment … Continue reading CIRM Approves Money for a Patient Support Program
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
A timeless message about stem cells
Dr. Daniel Kota The world of stem cell research is advancing rapidly, with new findings and discoveries seemingly every week. And yet some things that we knew years ago are still every bit as relevant today as they were then. Take for example a TEDx talk by Dr. Daniel Kota, a stem cell researcher and … Continue reading A timeless message about stem cells
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
Strength forged from adversity
Regina Karchner - Photo courtesy Nancy Ramos Photography 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 … Continue reading Strength forged from adversity
Fighting for his life and the lives of other stroke survivors
Sean Entin, stroke survivor and founder of Stroke Hacker The word "miraculous" gets tossed around a lot in the world of medicine, mostly by people who have made an unexpected recovery from a deadly or life-threatening condition. In Sean Entin's case calling his recovery from an almost-fatal stroke could be called miraculous, but I think … Continue reading Fighting for his life and the lives of other stroke survivors
Taking to the streets with Pride
Yesterday the CIRM team were honored to be part of the San Francisco Pride Parade. To walk along the route with colleagues and friends, surrounded by hundreds of thousands of cheering people was such a fun way to spend the day, and gave us a chance to introduce ourselves to many people who may not … Continue reading Taking to the streets with Pride