Cynthia Schaffer supports CIRM’s Business Development and Industry Engagement and Commercialization activities.  In the midst of World Series season I’m in a team sports frame of mind. And as I help prepare CIRM for our annual foray to the Stem Cell Meeting on the Mesa, I’m cheering on our teams of scientists who will be … Continue reading Connecting our research teams with investors at Meeting on the Mesa

As you get older you tend to focus more on how much time you have left and how best to use that time. It’s true in life, and it’s equally true in business. That’s why some time ago our President, Alan Trounson, put together a Scientific Advisory Board to help advise us on how best … Continue reading CIRM’s board gets some strategic advice and ponders conflicts of interest rules

Nan Luke shared her story about living with multiple sclerosis with our governing board. Read her Story of Hope on our website.Our grantees at Scripps Research Institute have found that a drug already in use for Parkinson's disease might also help people with multiple sclerosis.Multiple sclerosis occurs when a person's immune system attacks the insulation … Continue reading CIRM grantees find Parkinson’s drug shows promise in treating multiple sclerosis

Laureen Forman's son Brandon has autism. Read her Story of Hope on our website.Somewhere between one and one and a half million people live with an autism spectrum disorder. It’s the fastest growing developmental disability and costs the U.S. $60 billion dollars a year. On this blog, we’ve written about how our grantees are progressing … Continue reading Best of the blog: Progress in autism research

Here’s one thing that the winners of this year’s Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine share with last year’s team (aside from ties to our agency): Both urge support for government funding of basic research.A story in the Washington Post quoted this year’s winner Randy Schekman of UC Berkely:“Our investment in basic science in this … Continue reading Government funding of basic research essential, Nobel prize-winners say

This morning the Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine went to Thomas Sudhof from Stanford University, Randy Schekman from UC Berkeley and James Rothman from Yale University. Together, the group worked out how cells transport cellular cargo in packages called vesicles. The Nobel Prize committee described their accomplishments like this:Randy Schekman discovered a set of … Continue reading Nobel prize-winners Sudhof and Schekman involved in CIRM-funded stem cell training and research

The back-to-school ads have already receded and thoughts of Halloween, and dare I say it, the winter holidays are suddenly on the horizon. And yet, here at CIRM, we’re still receiving a steady stream of terrific stories from this past summer’s Creativity Awards, a stem cell research internship program for high school students.The CIRM-funded program … Continue reading New UC Davis Video Features CIRM-Funded High School Stem Cell Researchers

Pancreatic islet cells. Photo by Rachel Hermosillo Here are some stem cell stories that caught our eye this past week. Some are groundbreaking science, others are of personal interest to us, and still others are just fun.  Replacement glands for spit and tears. We take many things our bodies do for granted. Producing saliva and tears … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: spit and tears, spinal cord injury and pancreas transplants falling behind in U.S.

When we talk about diversity we typically think about ensuring that people from different communities are not discriminated against in society such as in the workplace or in school and that they have the same rights as everyone else. But diversity is also an important consideration in developing new stem cell therapies so that they … Continue reading A call for an international network of stem cell banks to ensure diversity and consistency in iPS cell lines

Each month CIRM President Alan Trounson gives his perspective on recently published papers he thinks will be valuable in moving the field of stem cell research forward. This month’s report, along with an archive of past reports, is available on the CIRM website.Following a trend from recent months, my full report talks about work by … Continue reading Guest blogger Alan Trounson — September’s stem cell research highlights