Four CIRM Funded Trials Release Results at 2019 ASH Meeting

With more than 17,000 members from nearly 100 countries, the American Society of Hematology (ASH) is an organization composed of clinicians and scientists around the world working to conquer various blood diseases. Currently, they are having their 61st Annual ASH Meeting to highlight some of the exciting work going on in the field. Four of … Continue reading Four CIRM Funded Trials Release Results at 2019 ASH Meeting

How a see-through fish could one day lead to substitutes for bone marrow transplants

Human blood stem cells For years researchers have struggled to create human blood stem cells in the lab. They have done it several times with animal models, but the human kind? Well, that’s proved a bit trickier. Now a CIRM-funded team at UC San Diego (UCSD) think they have cracked the code. And that would … Continue reading How a see-through fish could one day lead to substitutes for bone marrow transplants

CRISPR-Cas9 101: an overview and the role it plays in developing therapies

Illustration courtesy of TED website There has been a lot of conversation surrounding CRISPR-Cas9 in these recent months as well as many sensational news stories. Some of these stories highlight the promise this technology holds, while others emphasize a word of caution. But what exactly does this technology do and how does it work? Here … Continue reading CRISPR-Cas9 101: an overview and the role it plays in developing therapies

Promising start to CIRM-funded trial for life-threatening blood disorder

Aristotle At CIRM we are always happy to highlight success stories, particularly when they involve research we are funding. But we are also mindful of the need not to overstate a finding. To quote the Greek philosopher Aristotle (who doesn’t often make an appearance on this blog), “one swallow does not a summer make”. In … Continue reading Promising start to CIRM-funded trial for life-threatening blood disorder

Therapies Targeting Cancer, Deadly Immune Disorder and Life-Threatening Blood Condition Get Almost $32 Million Boost from CIRM Board

An innovative therapy that uses a patient’s own immune system to attack cancer stem cells is one of three new clinical trials approved for funding by CIRM's Governing Board. Researchers at the Stanford University School of Medicine were awarded $11.9 million to test their Chimeric Antigen Receptor (CAR) T Cell Therapy in patients with B … Continue reading Therapies Targeting Cancer, Deadly Immune Disorder and Life-Threatening Blood Condition Get Almost $32 Million Boost from CIRM Board

Here’s a new gene editing strategy to treat genetic blood disorders

If you’re taking a road trip across the country, you have a starting point and an ending point. How you go from point A to point B could be one of a million different routes, but the ultimate outcome is the same: reaching your final destination. Yesterday scientists from St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital published … Continue reading Here’s a new gene editing strategy to treat genetic blood disorders

Rare Disease Day, a chance to raise awareness and hope.

Battling a deadly disease like cancer or Alzheimer’s is difficult; but battling a rare and deadly disease is doubly so. At least with common diseases there is a lot of research seeking to develop new treatments. With rare diseases there is often very little research, and so there are fewer options for treatment. Even just … Continue reading Rare Disease Day, a chance to raise awareness and hope.

BIO International Panel Showed Stem Cell Science Poised to Make a Difference in Medical Practice Soon

When the biotechnology trade association began holding annual conferences in 1993, they drew 1,400 to the first event. This year BIO International expected nearly 20,000 here in San Diego. Among the dozens of concurrent sessions each day of this four-day scramble, stem cells got one track on one day this year. But listening to the … Continue reading BIO International Panel Showed Stem Cell Science Poised to Make a Difference in Medical Practice Soon

BIO International Panel Showed Stem Cell Science Poised to Make a Difference in Medical Practice Soon

When the biotechnology trade association began holding annual conferences in 1993, they drew 1,400 to the first event. This year BIO International expected nearly 20,000 here in San Diego. Among the dozens of concurrent sessions each day of this four-day scramble, stem cells got one track on one day this year. But listening to the … Continue reading BIO International Panel Showed Stem Cell Science Poised to Make a Difference in Medical Practice Soon