Legal and policy issues relating to stem cell research continue to make headlines in Europe. On June 15 a coalition of leading funders of biomedical research and patients groups issued a joint statement calling on the European Parliament to continue funding research using embryonic stem cells. Members of this collaboration include CIRM funding partner the … Continue reading Embryonic stem cell funding at a critical moment in EU

This past week several people from CIRM have been in Japan at the yearly meeting of the International Society for Stem Cell Research. These meetings are a great chance to stay current with stem cell science and see where the field is moving. If we’re going to accelerate new therapies, our science officers need to … Continue reading Stem cell meeting of the minds in Yokohama, Japan

Stem cell pioneer Irv Weissman has a rather feisty correspondence in the June 14 issue of Cell Stem Cell in which he takes issue with the many barriers standing in the way of stem cell therapies. His targets include fraudulent stem cell clinics, lack of Food and Drug Administration oversight, private cord blood banks, lack … Continue reading Irv Weissman on the many barriers to stem cell therapies and why they matter

Image generated by magnetic particle imaging, being developed by Steven Conolly of UC BerkeleyWhen you read the words “physics” and “engineering”, I bet the first thing that comes to mind is NOT stem cell research. But it turns out the fields of physics and engineering are making possible the development of magnetic particle imaging, or … Continue reading Powerful new imaging technology is a game-changer for stem cell therapies

Any business or organizational expert will tell you that the key to success in any enterprise is planning. Without a plan that lays out what you want to do and how you want to do it, you are unlikely to achieve your goals. Given the importance of our goal—finding new disease therapies—it’s especially important that … Continue reading Developing stem cell therapies and spurring economic growth: CIRM’s 2012 strategic plan

One of the top suspects behind killer vascular diseases is the victim of mistaken identity, according to researchers from the University of California, Berkeley, who used genetic tracing to help hunt down the real culprit.So begins a press release from UC Berkeley about the true cellular culprit behind vascular disease. Scientists had long thought that … Continue reading Newly discovered blood vessel stem cells point to new therapies for vascular disease

The Guardian ran a story about stem cell research that could be more or less summed up as follows: It’s started.They profiled Marcus Hilton, who was the first person in the UK to receive a transplant of cells created from human embryonic stem cells. In his case, he received the transplant in his eye as … Continue reading The Guardian sees hope in first human stem cell trials

Who ever knew that a horse named Jim would change the face of medicine? True story. Back in 1901 a serious diphtheria epidemic was sweeping through St. Louis. Back then doctors used antitoxins prepared in horses to treat people with diphtheria. Unfortunately unbeknown to the doctors, Jim, one of the horses they used to create … Continue reading The surprising journey from a horse named Jim to stem cell therapies at UC Davis

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.I devote most of my report this month to four papers that report … Continue reading Guest blogger Alan Trounson — May’s stem cell research highlights

At last week’s board meeting we funded 21 new awards worth $69 million. These were the third round of our recurring Early Translational Awards. (Here’s our press release about those awards.)Going into that governing board meeting, board member Leeza Gibbons wrote about what supporting new research awards means to her:“Every time we consider applications for … Continue reading New stem cell awards bring therapies closer to patients