TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO KNOW: A Patient Advocate’s guide to being a Patient Advocate

A few weeks ago I was at the CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic Network Symposium at UCLA and was fortunate enough to hear Gianna McMillan speak about patient advocacy. It was a powerful, moving, funny, and truly engaging talk. I quickly realized I wanted to blog about her talk and so for the first few … Continue reading TELL ME WHAT I NEED TO KNOW: A Patient Advocate’s guide to being a Patient Advocate

CIRM applauds FDA crackdown on stem cell clinics that “peddle unapproved treatments.”

CIRM is commending the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for its action against two stem cell clinics offering unapproved therapies. On Wednesday, the FDA filed two complaints in federal court seeking a permanent injunction against California Stem Cell Treatment Center Inc. and US Stem Cell Clinic LLC. of Sunrise, Florida. The FDA says the … Continue reading CIRM applauds FDA crackdown on stem cell clinics that “peddle unapproved treatments.”

‘Ask The Expert’ on Facebook Live about the power of stem cells to reverse damage caused by a stroke.

It’s not often you get a chance to ask a world class stem cell expert a question about their work, and how it might help you or someone you love. But on Thursday, May 31 you can do just that. CIRM is hosting a special ‘Ask the Expert’ event on Facebook Live. The topic is … Continue reading ‘Ask The Expert’ on Facebook Live about the power of stem cells to reverse damage caused by a stroke.

UC Davis Stem Cell Director Jan Nolta Shares Her Thoughts on the Importance of Mentoring Young Scientists

Jan Nolta is a scientific rockstar. She is a Professor at UC Davis and the Director of the Stem Cell Program at the UC Davis School of Medicine. Her lab’s research is dedicated to developing stem cell-based treatments for Huntington’s disease (HD). Jan is a tireless advocate for both stem cell and HD research and … Continue reading UC Davis Stem Cell Director Jan Nolta Shares Her Thoughts on the Importance of Mentoring Young Scientists

Coming up with a stem cell FIX for a life-threatening blood disorder

A promising new treatment option for hemophiliacs is in the works at the Salk Institute for Biological Sciences. Patients with Hemophilia B experience uncontrolled, and sometimes life threatening, bleeding due to loss or improper function of Factor IX (FIX), a protein involved in blood clotting. There is no cure for the disease and patients rely … Continue reading Coming up with a stem cell FIX for a life-threatening blood disorder

Stem Cell Agency’s supporting role in advancing research for rare diseases

The recent agreement transferring GSK’s rare disease gene therapies to Orchard Therapeutics was good news for both companies and for the patients who are hoping this research could lead to new treatments, even cures, for some rare diseases. It was also good news for CIRM, which played a key role in helping Orchard grow to … Continue reading Stem Cell Agency’s supporting role in advancing research for rare diseases

Stem Cell Roundup: better model of schizophrenia, fasting boosts stem cells, and why does our hair gray.

Stem cell photo of the week: Recreating brain cell interactions for studying schizophrenia Our pick for the stem cell image of the week is from the laboratory of Rusty Gage at the Salk Institute. The team generated multiple types of nerve cells from stem cells to more closely represent the interactions that occur in the … Continue reading Stem Cell Roundup: better model of schizophrenia, fasting boosts stem cells, and why does our hair gray.

New CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic offers HOPE for boys with deadly disease

For people battling Duchenne Muscular Dystrophy (DMD), a rare and fatal genetic disorder that slowly destroys muscles, hope has often been in short supply. There is no cure and treatments are limited. But now a new clinical trial at the site of one of the newest CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic Network members could change … Continue reading New CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic offers HOPE for boys with deadly disease

Livers skip stem cells, build missing structures from scratch via direct cell identity conversion

Stem cells…eh, who needs them anyway?! That’s what you might be thinking after today, at least for some forms of liver disease. That’s because a team of researchers from UCSF and Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center just published results in Nature showing liver cells can directly change identity, or transdifferentiate, in order to build, from … Continue reading Livers skip stem cells, build missing structures from scratch via direct cell identity conversion

Meet the high school student who moonlights as a neuroscientist

As part of our CIRM scholar blog series, we’re featuring the research and career accomplishments of CIRM funded students. Today, you’ll read about one of our former SPARK high school students. Emma Friedenberg is a high school senior at Campbell Hall in North Hollywood, California. She’s also an up-and-coming neuroscientist who has her sights set … Continue reading Meet the high school student who moonlights as a neuroscientist