Jackie Ward, PhD. Photo courtesy National Institute of Neurological Diseases and Stroke It's always fun to meet someone early in their career and see how they grow and evolve and take on new challenges. I first met Jackie Ward when she received a training grant from CIRM while she studied for her PhD at the … Continue reading From our house to the White House. Kinda
COVID
Teaching stem cells to play video games
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST Pong video game Back when I was growing up, shortly after the extinction of the dinosaurs, there was a popular video game called Pong. It was, in fact, pretty much the only video game at the time. It was a pretty simple game. You moved a “paddle” … Continue reading Teaching stem cells to play video games
A year unlike any other – a look back at one year post Prop 14
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST State flag of California 2020 was, by any standards, a pretty wacky year. Pandemic. Political convulsions. And a huge amount of uncertainty as to the funding of life-saving therapies at CIRM. Happily, those all turned out OK. We got vaccines to take care of COVID. The … Continue reading A year unlike any other – a look back at one year post Prop 14
Beware of misleading headlines and claims
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST Coronavirus particles, illustration. When the COVID pandemic broke out researchers all over the world scrambled to find new approaches to tackling the virus. Some of these, such as the vaccines, proved remarkably effective. Others, such as the anti-parasite medication ivermectin or the anti-malaria drug chloroquine, were … Continue reading Beware of misleading headlines and claims
Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears – we have a podcast for you.
It seems like everyone, including my dog Freddie, has a podcast these days. So now we do too. According to the Podcasthosting.org website there are some two million podcasts in the world. Make that two million and one. That’s because CIRM is launching its own podcast and doing it with one of the biggest names … Continue reading Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears – we have a podcast for you.
Going the extra mile to save a patient’s life
You can tell an awful lot about a company by the people it hires and the ability it gives them to do their job in an ethical, principled way. By that measure Rocket Pharma is a pretty darn cool company. Rocket Pharma is running a CIRM-funded clinical trial for Leukocyte Adhesion Deficiency-I (LAD-I), a rare … Continue reading Going the extra mile to save a patient’s life
Month of CIRM: Battling COVID-19
All this month we are using our blog and social media to highlight a new chapter in CIRM’s life, thanks to the people of California approving Proposition 14. We are looking back at what we have done since we were created in 2004, and also looking forward to the future. Dr. John Zaia, City of … Continue reading Month of CIRM: Battling COVID-19
Battling COVID and turning back the clock on stem cell funding
Coronavirus Battling the virus that causes COVID-19 is something that is top of everyone’s mind right now. That’s why CIRM is funding 17 different projects targeting the virus. But one of the most valuable tools in helping develop vaccines against a wide variety of diseases in the past is now coming under threat. We’ll talk … Continue reading Battling COVID and turning back the clock on stem cell funding
The Stem Cellar 