The five-year survival rate for people diagnosed with the most advanced stage of non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) is pretty grim, only between one and 10 percent. To address this devastating condition, the Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) today voted to invest almost $12 million in a team from UCLA that … Continue reading CIRM invests in stem cell clinical trial targeting lung cancer and promising research into osteoporosis and incontinence
UC Los Angeles
TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO KNOW: A Patient Advocate’s guide to being a Patient Advocate
A few weeks ago I was at the CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic Network Symposium at UCLA and was fortunate enough to hear Gianna McMillan speak about patient advocacy. It was a powerful, moving, funny, and truly engaging talk. I quickly realized I wanted to blog about her talk and so for the first few … Continue reading TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO KNOW: A Patient Advocate’s guide to being a Patient Advocate
Stem Cell Agency’s supporting role in advancing research for rare diseases
The recent agreement transferring GSK’s rare disease gene therapies to Orchard Therapeutics was good news for both companies and for the patients who are hoping this research could lead to new treatments, even cures, for some rare diseases. It was also good news for CIRM, which played a key role in helping Orchard grow to … Continue reading Stem Cell Agency’s supporting role in advancing research for rare diseases
Patients at the heart of Alpha Stem Cell Clinics Symposium
I have been to a lot of stem cell conferences over the years and there’s one recent trend I really like: the growing importance and frequency of the role played by patient advocates. There was a time, not so long ago, when having a patient advocate speak at a scientific conference was almost considered a … Continue reading Patients at the heart of Alpha Stem Cell Clinics Symposium
Stem Cell Roundup: The brain & obesity; iPSCs & sex chromosomes; modeling mental illness
Stem Cell Image of the Week: Obesity-in-a-dish reveals mutations and abnormal function in nerve cells Our stem cell image of the week looks like the work of a pre-historic cave dweller who got their hands on some DayGlo paint. But, in fact, it’s a fluorescence microscopy image of stem cell-derived brain cells from the lab … Continue reading Stem Cell Roundup: The brain & obesity; iPSCs & sex chromosomes; modeling mental illness
Stem Cell Roundup: watching brain cells in real time, building better heart cells, and the plot thickens on the adult neurogenesis debate
Here are the stem cell stories that caught our eye this week. Watching brain cells in real time Our stem cell photo of the week is brought to you by the Khakh lab at UCLA Health. The lab developed a new method that allows scientists to watch brain cells interact in real time. Using a … Continue reading Stem Cell Roundup: watching brain cells in real time, building better heart cells, and the plot thickens on the adult neurogenesis debate
Stem Cell Round: Improving memory, building up “good” fat, nanomedicine
Stem Cell Photo of the Week In honor of brain awareness week, our featured stem cell photo is of the brain! Scientists at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Stem Cell Institute identified a genetic switch that could potentially improve memory during aging and symptoms of PTSD. Shown in this picture are dentate gyrus cells … Continue reading Stem Cell Round: Improving memory, building up “good” fat, nanomedicine
Lessons Learned & Knowledge Shared: 3rd Annual Alpha Clinics Symposium Celebrates the Delivery of Stem Cell Treatments to Patients
The CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinics (ASCC) Network was launched in 2015 to address a compelling unmet medical need for rigorous, FDA regulated, stem cell-related clinical trials for patients with challenging, incurable diseases. Since its inception, the Network has treated more than 200 patients in over 40 clinical trials at six leading California medical centers: … Continue reading Lessons Learned & Knowledge Shared: 3rd Annual Alpha Clinics Symposium Celebrates the Delivery of Stem Cell Treatments to Patients
Stem Cell Roundup: Improving muscle function in muscular dystrophy; Building a better brain; Boosting efficiency in making iPSC’s
Here are the stem cell stories that caught our eye this week. Photos of the week TGIF! We’re so excited that the weekend is here that we are sharing not one but TWO amazing stem cell photos of the week. Photo #1 is borrowed from a blog we wrote earlier this week about a new … Continue reading Stem Cell Roundup: Improving muscle function in muscular dystrophy; Building a better brain; Boosting efficiency in making iPSC’s
Just a Mom: The Journey of a Sickle Cell Disease Patient Advocate [video]
Adrienne Shapiro will tell you that she’s just a mom. And it’s true. She is just a mom. Just a mom who is the fourth generation of mothers in her family to have children born with sickle cell disease. Just a mom who was an early advocate of innovative stem cell and gene therapy research … Continue reading Just a Mom: The Journey of a Sickle Cell Disease Patient Advocate
The Stem Cellar 