20 Years of CIRM: Building the Workforce

In celebration of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM)’s 20th anniversary, we have been reflecting on some of the early projects we supported and their outcomes.Today, we’re looking at our first set of grants, which we awarded in 2006 to support training programs for graduate students and postdoctoral fellows. Not long after, CIRM began … Continue reading 20 Years of CIRM: Building the Workforce

How CIRM’s high school internship program inspired this scientist’s career path 

Photos courtesy of Rashi Ranjan Each year, interns and trainees from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) education and training programs celebrate achievements, whether that’s making new discoveries in their cell and gene therapy research or advancing to the next phase of their professional journey.   This summer, Rashi Ranjan—a former SPARK high school intern—is … Continue reading How CIRM’s high school internship program inspired this scientist’s career path 

Why the future of regenerative medicine depends on students getting a living wage

The headline in the journal Nature was intended to grab attention and it definitely did that. It read: ‘The scandal of researchers paid less than a living wage’ The rest of the article built on that saying “The cost-of-living crisis is a fundamental threat for PhD scholars and early-career researchers. They need to be paid … Continue reading Why the future of regenerative medicine depends on students getting a living wage

Educating and training the next generation of regenerative science workforce

THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST Bridges scholars presenting their research posters to CIRM team members and other scientists Regenerative medicine is a diverse and rapidly evolving field, employing core expertise from biologists, engineers, and clinicians. As the field continues to advance, a well-trained regenerative science workforce is needed to apply the … Continue reading Educating and training the next generation of regenerative science workforce

CIRM Bridges Student Researcher Discovers Mentoring is a Two-Way Street

Jasmine Carter is a CIRM Bridges Scholar a Sacramento State University. She currently is interning in the lab of Dr. Kyle Fink at UC Davis and her research focuses on developing induced neurons from skin cells to model neurological disorders and develop novel therapeutics. Jasmine was a mentor to one of our UC Davis CIRM … Continue reading CIRM Bridges Student Researcher Discovers Mentoring is a Two-Way Street

Training the Next Generation of Stem Cell Scientists

Nobel prize winners don’t come out of thin air, they were all young, impressionable kids at one point in time.  If you ask any award-winning scientists how they got into science research, many of them would likely tell you about an inspiring teacher, an encouraging parent, or a hands-on research opportunity that inspired or helped … Continue reading Training the Next Generation of Stem Cell Scientists

Improving process drives progress in stem cell research

Process is not a sexy word. No one gets excited thinking about improving a process. Yet behind every great idea, behind every truly effective program is someone who figured out a way to improve the process, to make that idea not just work, but work better. It’s not glamorous. Sometimes it’s not even pretty. But … Continue reading Improving process drives progress in stem cell research