Dr. Kelly Shepard, SPARK program director After almost 18 months – and counting – that have put us all to the test, made us wear masks, work from home, limit contact with all but the closest of family and friends it’s a wonderful thing to be able to get a glimpse of the future and … Continue reading SPARKing the genius of the next generation of scientists
UC San Francisco
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
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
CIRM new hires include a few former employees
CIRM new hires include former employees and some new faces, all focused on the agency's mission. Rosa Canet-Aviles, PhD Rosa has been named the new Vice President of Scientific Programs. Rosa is a familiar face at the agency, serving as a Science Officer with CIRM from 2008 to 2014. During that time, she helped oversee … Continue reading CIRM new hires include a few former employees
Latest CIRM TRAN1 awards focus on CAR-based cell therapy to treat cancer
Earlier this week the CIRM ICOC Board awarded $14.5 million to fund three translational stage research projects (TRAN1), whose goal is to support early development activities necessary for advancement to a clinical study or broad end use of a potential therapy. Although all three projects have their distinct area of focus, they all utilize CAR-based … Continue reading Latest CIRM TRAN1 awards focus on CAR-based cell therapy to treat cancer
CIRM Board Approves Continued Funding for SPARK and Alpha Stem Cell Clinics
Yesterday the governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) approved $8.5 million to continue funding of the Summer Program to Accelerate Regenerative Medicine Knowledge (SPARK) and Alpha Stem Cell Clinics (ASCC). This past February, the Board approved continued funding for stem cell focused educational programs geared towards undergraduate, masters, pre/postdoctoral, and medical … Continue reading CIRM Board Approves Continued Funding for SPARK and Alpha Stem Cell Clinics
How stem cells play “follow the leader”
Todd McDevitt, PhD Photo courtesy: Gladstone Institutes It’s hard enough trying to follow the movements of individuals in a crowd of people, but imagine how much harder it is to follow the movements of stem cells crowded into a tiny petri dish. Well, researchers at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco have done just that. … Continue reading How stem cells play “follow the leader”
CIRM Builds Out World Class Team With 5 New hires
Kevin Marks, CIRM's new General Counsel. Photo courtesy Modern-Counsel.com Following the passage of Proposition 14 CIRM has hired five new employees to help increase the team’s ability to respond to new challenges and responsibilities. Prop 14, which was approved by voters in November 2020, gives CIRM $5.5 billion in new funding. Those funds mean CIRM … Continue reading CIRM Builds Out World Class Team With 5 New hires
Remembering Eli Broad, philanthropist and stem cell champion
Eli Broad, Photo by Nancy Pastor The world of stem cell research lost a good friend this weekend. Eli Broad, a generous supporter of science, education and the arts, passed away at the age of 87. Eli came from humble origins, born in the Bronx to an immigrant father who worked as a house painter … Continue reading Remembering Eli Broad, philanthropist and stem cell champion