CIRM and NIH: a dynamic duo to advance stem cell therapies

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NIH
National Institutes of Health

Few things feel more flattering than receiving an unexpected invitation from someone you respect.

The person wants to learn how you work and determine whether your methods could improve their own.

That recently happened to CIRM. Randy Mills, then CIRM’s president and CEO, explained:

“Several weeks ago, the director of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) called me.

“He asked whether we would visit the National Institutes of Health (NIH) and discuss our work, the changes we had made, and their impact.”

Apparently, people at the NIH had been reading our Strategic Plan and Annual Report and hearing good things about us from many different individuals and organizations. We also heard they were motivated to engage more fully with the regenerative medicine community following the passage of the 21st Century Cures Act.

We expected a sit-down chat, but we got much more than that. They blocked out one and a half days so we had time for in-depth, thoughtful conversations about how to advance the field.

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Dr. Francis Collins, NIH Director

NIH Director Francis Collins and NHLBI Director Gary Gibbons opened the meeting.

The CIRM team then presented an overview of the organization’s work. The presenters included Dr. Mills, Dr. Maria Millan, Gabe Thompson, and James Harrison.

They discussed CIRM’s vision, strategic priorities, current portfolio, lessons learned, future plans, and challenges.

Representatives from several NIH institutes attended the meeting. They asked CIRM leaders several questions, including:

  • What criteria determine whether a project is ready for a clinical trial?
  • How does CIRM measure success?
  • How did CIRM 2.0 change its strategies and priorities?
  • How well are those strategies working?

The discussion went so well that the planned one-day meeting expanded to two days.

Maria Millan, then CIRM’s interim president and CEO, summarized the discussions enthusiastically:

“The meetings were extremely productive. After meeting with Dr. Collins’s group and the broader institute, we held additional discussions.

“The NIH representatives received such enthusiastic responses from institute leaders that they extended the meeting for a second day.

“We met with representatives from the National Institute of Dental and Craniofacial Research; the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute; the National Eye Institute; the National Institute on Aging; the National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering; the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases; and the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences.

“We discussed strategic and operational considerations for funding leading research in stem cell and regenerative medicine.

“We explored ways to collaborate and leverage both organizations’ resources and programs. These efforts could accelerate the development of regenerative medicine and stem cell treatments.”

This meeting marked only the beginning, but it established a foundation for a productive partnership.

Soon after returning from Washington, D.C., CIRM received invitations to participate in NIH workgroups and follow-up meetings.

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