Gavin Newsom

CIRM board member Lauren Miller Rogen appointed to California Alzheimer’s Task Force

/ Yimy Villa / Leave a comment
Lauren Miller Rogen, Hilarity for Charity co-founder and CIRM Board Member

California has the largest aging population in the United States. The U.S. Census Bureau has estimated that one in five Californians will be 65 or older by the year 2030. Unfortunately with age comes a wide of health related issues that can arise such as Alzheimer’s.

Alzheimer’s is caused by changes in the brain that affect memory and thinking skills. The disease can progress to the point where carrying out the simplest tasks become quite a challenge. In the United States alone, 5.8 million people are living with Alzheimer’s, 630,000 of whom live in California. By 2050, the number of people with Alzheimer’s in the United States is expected to increase to almost 14 million.

To address this growing problem, California Governor Gavin Newsom announced the creation of a California Alzheimer’s Task Force comprised of scientists, politicians, and other individuals dedicated to addressing the needs of the Alzheimer’s community and the impact the disease has on California. The new task force has been tasked with releasing a report on the disease and ways to address the challenges it poses by 2020.

One of these task force members is our very own Lauren Miller Rogen, who is a dedicated member of our governing Board and the co-founder of Hilarity for Charity, a charity organization that raises awareness about and funds for research into Alzheimer’s. In addition to her advocacy work, Lauren is also a screenwriter and actress, staring alongside her husband Seth Rogen in movies such as 50/50 and Superbad.

“I’m so honored to join the Task Force to fight for the 670,000 Californians currently living with Alzheimer’s and for those who care for them,” Miller Rogen said. “This is a tremendous and diverse group who intend to create and propose real ideas to change the course of this disease.”

For Lauren, her journey towards becoming an advocate for Alzheimer’s is a very personal one. Her grandfather died of Alzheimer’s when she was just 12 years old and her grandmother died of the disease six years after that. Now, her mother is struggling with Alzheimer’s, having been diagnosed at the age of 55.

You can read more about Lauren’s story on a previous blog post.

CIRM have given awards totaling over $56 million throughout the years dedicated towards Alzheimer’s related research.

How a Soviet space craft proved an inspiration for CIRM’s latest Board member

/ Kevin McCormack / Leave a comment

blumenthal

George Blumenthal’s life changed on October 4, 1957. That’s the day the Soviet Union launched Sputnik, the world’s first artificial earth satellite. The beach ball-sized satellite marked the start of the space race between the US and the USSR. It also marked the start of Blumenthal’s fascination with science and space.

Fast forward almost 60 years and Dr. Blumenthal, now a world-renowned professor of astronomy and astrophysics and the Chancellor of U.C. Santa Cruz, has been named as the newest member of the CIRM governing Board.

California Lt. Governor Gavin Newsom made the appointment calling Dr. Blumenthal a world-class scientist and forward-looking administrator:

“As a Regent of the University of California, I have been impressed by his deep commitment to expanding educational opportunity for all California students and enhancing research opportunities. I am confident the Chancellor’s vision and leadership will be of immense benefit to the CIRM Board.”

In a news release Dr. Blumenthal said he is looking forward to being part of CIRM:

“The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine is doing outstanding work, and I am delighted to join the Board. CIRM support has advanced stem cell research at UC Santa Cruz and across the state. Public support for this work remains strong, and I look forward to playing a role in securing the future of the institute.”

sputnik

Sputnik

But getting back to Sputnik for a moment. In an article in Valley Vision, the newsletter for Joint Venture Silicon Valley, Dr. Blumenthal said the launch of Sputnik helped fuel his interest in science in general and space in particular.

“Sputnik had a profound effect on American science and it certainly played a part in my interest in space and physics all through high school, college and graduate school,” says Blumenthal. “I intended to become a particle physicist, but after a year in grad school I became more interested in space and astronomy, so I changed from studying the smallest things in the universe to the biggest, like galaxies.”

Dr. Blumenthal became the first in his family to graduate from college. He then went on to enjoy a successful career as a professor of astronomy and astrophysics. His research helped deepen our understanding of galaxies and the cosmos, including the role that dark matter plays in the formation of the structure of the universe. He became the chair of the California Association for Research in Astronomy (CARA), which manages the W. M. Keck Observatory near the summit of Mauna Kea in Hawaii. He also co-authored two of the leading astronomy textbooks, 21st Century Astronomy and Understanding our Universe.

Blumenthal joined the faculty of UC Santa Cruz in 1972 and was named chancellor in 2007. Throughout his career he has been a champion of diversity both at UCSC, where he created the Chancellor’s Advisory Council on Diversity, and throughout the U.C. system, where he served as a member of the Regents’ Study Group on Diversity.

Jonathan Thomas, Chair of the CIRM Board, welcomed Dr. Blumenthal, saying:

“We are honored to have someone with Dr. Blumenthal’s experience and expertise join the Board. As Chancellor at UCSC he has demonstrated a clear commitment to advancing world-class research and earned a reputation as a bold and visionary leader. We look forward to seeing those qualities in action to help advance CIRM’s mission.”

At CIRM we are shooting for the stars, aiming as high as we can to help accelerate stem cell treatements to patients with unmet medical needs. It will be nice having Dr. Blumenthal on Board to help guide us.