Marissa Cors (right) with her mother Adrienne Shapiro Marissa Cors has lived with Sickle Cell Disease (SCD) for more than 40 years. The co-founder of The Sickle Cell Experience Live, an online platform designed to bring more awareness to Sickle Cell Disease around the world, says it’s hard, knowing that at any moment you may … Continue reading CIRM-Funded Clinical Trial for Sickle Cell Gives Hope to People Battling the Disease
gene therapy
Scientists Engineer Stem Cells to Fight HIV
Image of the virus that causes AIDS - courtesy NIH If that headline seems familiar it should. It came from an article in MIT Technology Review back in 2009. There have been many other headlines since then, all on the same subject, and yet here we are, in 2020, and still no cure for HIV/AIDS. … Continue reading Scientists Engineer Stem Cells to Fight HIV
‘A Tornado at the Front Door, a Tsunami at the Back Door’
CIRM funds a lot of research and all of it has life-saving potential. But every once in a while you come across a story about someone benefiting from CIRM-supported research that highlights why the work we do is so important. This story is about a brilliant researcher at UC San Diego developing a treatment for … Continue reading ‘A Tornado at the Front Door, a Tsunami at the Back Door’
NIH collaboration aims to develop affordable gene therapies for sickle cell disease and HIV
Sickle cell disease (SCD) and HIV have a major burden on the health of impoverished communities all over the world. Of the 38 million people living with HIV all over the world, approximately 95% reside within developing countries, with 67% in sub-Saharan Africa, half of whom are living without any treatment. Fifteen million babies will … Continue reading NIH collaboration aims to develop affordable gene therapies for sickle cell disease and HIV
CIRM Board Approves New Clinical Trial for Rare Childhood Disease
Today the governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) approved a grant of almost $12 million to Dr. Stephanie Cherqui at the University of California, San Diego (UCSD) to conduct a clinical trial for treatment of cystinosis. This award brings the total number of CIRM funded clinical trials to 55. Cystinosis is … Continue reading CIRM Board Approves New Clinical Trial for Rare Childhood Disease
CIRM Board Approves Funding for New Clinical Trials in Solid Tumors and Pediatric Disease
Dr. Theodore Nowicki, physician in the division of pediatric hematology/oncology at UCLA. Photo courtesy of Milo Mitchell/UCLA Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center The governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) awarded two grants totaling $11.15 million to carry out two new clinical trials. These latest additions bring the total number of CIRM funded … Continue reading CIRM Board Approves Funding for New Clinical Trials in Solid Tumors and Pediatric Disease
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
Gene therapy gives patient a cure and a new lease on life
Brenden Whittaker (left), of Ohio, is a patient born with a rare genetic immune disease who was treated at the Dana-Farber/Boston Children’s Cancer and Blood Disorders Center in a CIRM funded gene therapy trial. Dr. David Williams (on right) is Brenden's treating physician.Photo courtesy of Rose Lincoln - Harvard Staff Photographer Pursuing an education can … Continue reading Gene therapy gives patient a cure and a new lease on life
Gene therapy and blood stem cells cure sickle cell disease patients
Sickle-shaped blood cells. The cells become lodged in blood vessels, causing strokes or excruciating pain as blood stops flowing. Photo courtesy of Omikron/Science Source Blood is the lifeline of the body. The continuous, unimpeded circulation of blood maintains oxygen flow throughout the body and enables us to carry out our everyday activities. Unfortunately, there are … Continue reading Gene therapy and blood stem cells cure sickle cell disease patients
Stem Cell Round: Improving memory, building up “good” fat, nanomedicine
Stem Cell Photo of the Week In honor of brain awareness week, our featured stem cell photo is of the brain! Scientists at the Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Stem Cell Institute identified a genetic switch that could potentially improve memory during aging and symptoms of PTSD. Shown in this picture are dentate gyrus cells … Continue reading Stem Cell Round: Improving memory, building up “good” fat, nanomedicine