Bubble baby treatment cleared to restart clinical trial

Evie Vaccaro: Photo courtesy Nancy Ramos Three families battling a life-threatening immune disorder got some great news last week. A clinical trial that could save the life of their child has once again been given the go-ahead by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA). The clinical trial is the work of UCLA’s Dr. Don … Continue reading Bubble baby treatment cleared to restart clinical trial

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

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

Joining the movement to fight rare diseases

THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST It’s hard to think of something as being rare when it affects up to 30 million Americans and 300 million people worldwide. But the truth is there are more than 6,000 conditions – those affecting 200,000 people or fewer – that are considered rare.   Today, … Continue reading Joining the movement to fight rare diseases

CIRM-Funded Study Helping Babies Battle a Deadly Immune Disorder Gets Boost from FDA

Hataalii Begay, age 4, first child treated with UCSF gene therapy for Artemis-SCID THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST When Hataalii Begay was born in a remote part of the Navajo nation he was diagnosed with a rare, usually fatal condition. Today, thanks to a therapy developed at UCSF and funded by CIRM, … Continue reading CIRM-Funded Study Helping Babies Battle a Deadly Immune Disorder Gets Boost from FDA

CIRM-funded stem cell clinical trial patients: Where are they now?

Ronnie with his parents Pawash Priyank and Upasana Thakur. Since its launch in 2004, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has been a leader in growing the stem cell and regenerative medicine field while keeping the needs of patients at the core of its mission.  To date, CIRM has:   Advanced stem cell research and therapy development for … Continue reading CIRM-funded stem cell clinical trial patients: Where are they now?

Looking back and looking forward: good news for two CIRM-supported studies

https://open.spotify.com/episode/4IimCtQ8STpFikwZRXqSAB Dr. Rosa Bacchetta on the right with Brian Lookofsky (left) and Taylor Lookofsky after CIRM funded Dr. Bacchetta's work in October 2019. Taylor has IPEX syndrome It’s always lovely to end the week on a bright note and that’s certainly the case this week, thanks to some encouraging news about CIRM-funded research targeting blood … Continue reading Looking back and looking forward: good news for two CIRM-supported studies

Celebrating Stem Cell Awareness Day

THIS BLOD IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIOCAST ON SPOTIFY The second Wednesday in October is celebrated as Stem Cell Awareness Day. It's an event that CIRM has been part of since then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger launched it back in 2008 saying: ”The discoveries being made today in our Golden State will have a great … Continue reading Celebrating Stem Cell Awareness Day

Celebrating a young life that almost wasn’t

Often on the Stem Cellar we feature CIRM-funded work that is helping advance the field, unlocking some of the secrets of stem cells and how best to use them to develop promising therapies. But every once in a while it’s good to remind ourselves that this work, while it may often seem slow, is already … Continue reading Celebrating a young life that almost wasn’t

A conversation with Bob Klein about the past, present, and future of CIRM

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