I’m always impressed by good science communication, especially in the field of stem cell research. That’s why I was excited to see the new video program unveiled this week by the Gladstone Institutes. Gladstone, which is affiliated with UCSF, launched a new website featuring five videos produced by Wondros—an award winning company founded by Jesse … Continue reading CIRM grantees at the Gladstone Institutes launch powerful new videos

A few weeks ago we asked people to submit questions for the first video in our Ask the Expert series. Well, you submitted questions and we asked stem cell expert Lawrence Goldstein, PhD, at the University of California, San Diego to answer them. I’ve spoken with Dr. Goldstein in the past about his ALS research … Continue reading Ask the stem cell expert: your questions answered on Alzheimer’s disease

Paula Cannon, University of Southern CaliforniaToday brings more news from the AIDS conference being held this week in Washington D.C. The local San Francisco NPR affiliate did a story for their Quest science program about one approach to a possible disease cure. They interviewed Timothy Ray Brown, who is the first person to have the … Continue reading CIRM HIV/AIDS disease team making news

Next week begins the international AIDS conference, being held this year in Washington DC. CIRM’s board member Jeff Sheehy is there, in his role as long-time HIV/AIDS advocate. For the first time, the news coming out in advance of the meeting is about cures, not long-term drugs. As the Washington Post reports, this is a … Continue reading 2012 AIDS conference focuses on a cure

Induced pluripotent stem (iPS) cells reprogrammed from human skinWhen I read about stem cells in the news it is often frustrating to see all stem cells lumped together as if they are the same. It gives the impression that what one stem cell can do, all can do. In fact, different types of stem cells … Continue reading Confused about the many types of stem cells? Read on…

Ebony Flowers, a Bridges student at California State University, Long Beach, talks about her stem cell research with other students“I had never done any work or research in a lab before this, but I loved it from the very first moment. It gives me hope that this is something I can do for the rest … Continue reading Bridges students start stem cell research careers

We might be a little biased here but at the stem cell agency we consider stem cell research an important part of the future of medicine. So it’s no surprise that we consider our Bridges students an important part of the future of that research. The CIRM Bridges to Stem Cell Research Awards fund courses … Continue reading Bridge to the future – creating the next generation of researchers

A colony of iPS cells, courtesy of Kathrin Plath at the University of California, Los Angeles.Yesterday was an exciting day at CIRM headquarters, especially for some of our science officers who have been hard at work putting together a new three-part funding initiative. We posted those requests for applications yesterday and expect to start receiving … Continue reading New funding initiative will speed disease research

One of the goals of the stem cell agency is to bring promising therapies into clinical trials, to see if what works in the laboratory can work in people. It’s exciting but challenging work and, like all good science, it takes time. That’s why the news this week from Dr. Eduardo Marban at Cedars-Sinai Heart … Continue reading New approach to healing hearts gets approved for clinical trial

We recently blogged about a Houston Chronicle story revealing a troublesome Food and Drug Administration review of the Texas company Celltex Therapeutics. This is the company that treated Texas Gov. Rick Perry last year. And in previous posts we’ve written about concerns surrounding stem cell tourism – in which unregulated companies overseas promote unproven stem … Continue reading On stem cell clinics, clinical trials, and the pace of progress