Bone marrow transplant For children born with severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) life can be very challenging. SCID means they have no functioning immune system, so even a simple infection can prove life threatening. Left untreated, children with SCID often die in the first few years of life. There are stem cell/gene therapies funded by the … Continue reading Fast Track Designation for a therapy making transplants safer for children with a fatal immune disorder
CIRM
The race to cure sickle cell disease
September is National Sickle Cell Awareness Month, a time to refocus our efforts to find new treatments, even a cure, for people with sickle cell disease. Until we get those, CIRM remains committed to doing everything we can to reduce the stigma and bias that surrounds it. Sickle cell disease (SCD) is a rare, inherited … Continue reading The race to cure sickle cell disease
CIRM-funded stem cell-gene therapy shows promise in ALS safety trial
Senior author of the study Clive Svendsen, PhD (center) With funding support from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), Cedars-Sinai investigators have developed an investigational therapy using support cells and a protective protein that can be delivered past the blood-brain barrier. This combined stem cell and gene therapy can potentially protect diseased motor neurons … Continue reading CIRM-funded stem cell-gene therapy shows promise in ALS safety trial
How stem cells helped Veronica fight retinitis pigmentosa and regain her vision
Veronica and Elliott Growing up Veronica McDougall thought everyone saw the world the way she did; blurry, slightly out-of-focus and with tunnel vision. As she got older her sight got worse and even the strongest prescription glasses didn’t help. When she was 15 her brother tried teaching her to drive. One night she got into … Continue reading How stem cells helped Veronica fight retinitis pigmentosa and regain her vision
How this scientist uses Legos to explain the power of stem cells
Explaining science is hard. Explaining stem cells, which have their very own unique complexities, can be even more of a challenge, especially when communicating with a non-scientific audience. That’s why when we received this blog submission from a CIRM SPARK Program intern through UCSF’s High School Intern Program (HIP) explaining stem cells in a simple, … Continue reading How this scientist uses Legos to explain the power of stem cells
How one student overcame uncertainty in CIRM’s high school internship program
This summer—as well as year round—the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) will highlight blog submissions, photos, and other fun content from our SPARK Program. SPARK—also known as the Summer Program to Accelerate Regenerative Medicine Knowledge—gives high school students a chance to spend their summer working in a world class stem cell research facility here … Continue reading How one student overcame uncertainty in CIRM’s high school internship program
[PHOTOS] California high school students celebrate regenerative medicine science at CIRM’s annual SPARK conference
We had a wonderful time meeting so many energetic and enthusiastic high school students at the 2022 SPARK Program annual conference hosted by UCSF at the MLK Research Building. The SPARK program is one of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine’s (CIRM) many programs dedicated to building a diverse and highly-skilled workforce to support the growing regenerative … Continue reading [PHOTOS] California high school students celebrate regenerative medicine science at CIRM’s annual SPARK conference
Reminder! Apply now for discovery stage stem cell and gene therapy research funding
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) is seeking applications for its next round of Quest Awards (DISC2) for discovery stage research. Applications are due August 2nd, 2022, at 2:00 PM PDT. Please visit the CIRM website for full details. The purpose of the Quest Awards is to promote the discovery of promising new stem cell-based or gene therapy … Continue reading Reminder! Apply now for discovery stage stem cell and gene therapy research funding
Using stem cells and smart machines to warn of heart problems
Despite advances in treatments in recent years heart disease remains the leading cause of death in the US. It accounts for one in three deaths in this country, and many people are not even aware they have a problem until they have a heart attack. One of the early warning signs of danger is a … Continue reading Using stem cells and smart machines to warn of heart problems
And we’re back!
You may have noticed last week that the official CIRM website and our beloved Stem Cellar blog were offline for a few days. While we received some fun theories about the outage from our readers (we were not “hacked”, and it was not a ransomware attack), the explanation is much more technical: CIRM’s websites experienced … Continue reading And we’re back!