Some of the stars of our Annual Report It’s been a long time coming. Eighteen months to be precise. Which is a peculiarly long time for an Annual Report. The world is certainly a very different place today than when we started, and yet our core mission hasn’t changed at all, except to spring into … Continue reading Perseverance: from theory to therapy. Our story over the last year – and a half
Patient Advocate event
Stem Cells for Parkinson’s Disease
While the world has been turned upside down by the coronavirus pandemic, the virus poses an increased threat to people with Parkinson’s disease (PD). Having a compromised immune system, particularly involving the lungs, means people with PD are at higher risk of some of the more dangerous complications of COVID-19. So, this seems like an … Continue reading Stem Cells for Parkinson’s Disease
Ask the Stem Cell Team About Autism
On March 19th we held a special Facebook Live "Ask the Stem Cell Team About Autism" event. We were fortunate enough to have two great experts - Dr. Alysson Muotri from UC San Diego, and CIRM's own Dr. Kelly Shepard. As always there is a lot of ground to cover in under one hour and … Continue reading Ask the Stem Cell Team About Autism
Can stem cells help people who have had a stroke? Ask the experts.
Stroke is the third leading cause of death and disability in the US. Every 45 seconds someone in the US has a stroke. Every year around 275,000 people die from a stroke many more survive but are often impaired by the brain attack. The impact is not just physical, but psychological and emotional. It takes … Continue reading Can stem cells help people who have had a stroke? Ask the experts.
Why “Ask the Stem Cell Team” Remains Important
These are definitely strange, unusual and challenging times. Every day seems to bring new restrictions on what we can and should do. All, of course, in the name of protecting us and helping us avoid a potentially deadly virus. We all hope this will soon pass but we also know the bigger impact of the … Continue reading Why “Ask the Stem Cell Team” Remains Important
Enabling the Best Choice for Patients: The Need for Effective Patient Navigation
Making sure patients get the treatment they need and not a "snake oil" substitute We are at a turning point in regenerative medicine as the first wave of treatments have obtained FDA approval. But at the same time as we see the advance of scientifically rigorous research and regulated products we are also witnessing the … Continue reading Enabling the Best Choice for Patients: The Need for Effective Patient Navigation
Next generation of stem cell scientists leave their mark
One of the favorite events of the year for the team here at CIRM is our annual SPARK (Summer Program to Accelerate Regenerative Medicine Knowledge) conference. This is where high school students, who spent the summer interning at world class stem cell research facilities around California, get to show what they learned. It’s always an … Continue reading Next generation of stem cell scientists leave their mark
Stem cell progress and promise in fighting leukemia
Computer illustration of a cancerous white blood cell in leukemia. There is nothing you can do to prevent or reduce your risk of leukemia. That’s not a very reassuring statement considering that this year alone almost 62,000 Americans will be diagnosed with leukemia; almost 23,000 will die from the disease. That’s why CIRM is funding … Continue reading Stem cell progress and promise in fighting leukemia
Getting the inside scoop on the stem cell agency
There’s a wonderful moment at the end of the movie The Candidate (starring Robert Redford, 87% approval on Rotten Tomatoes!) about a modern political campaign for a US Senate seat. Redford (spoiler alert) plays a come-from-behind candidate and at the end when he wins he turns to his campaign manager and says “Now what?”. I … Continue reading Getting the inside scoop on the stem cell agency
“A new awakening”: One patient advocate’s fight for her daughters life
We often talk about the important role that patient advocates play in helping advance research. That was demonstrated in a powerful way last week when the CIRM Board approved almost $12 million to fund a clinical trial targeting a rare childhood disorder called cystinosis. The award, to Stephanie Cherqui and her team at UC San … Continue reading “A new awakening”: One patient advocate’s fight for her daughters life
The Stem Cellar 