Using stem cells to fix bad behavior in the brain

  Diseases of the brain have many different names, from Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s to ALS and Huntington’s, but they often have similar causes. Researchers at the Gladstone Institutes in San Francisco are using that knowledge to try and find an approach that might be effective against all of these diseases. In a new CIRM-funded study, … Continue reading Using stem cells to fix bad behavior in the brain

Translating great stem cell ideas into effective therapies

In science, there are a lot of terms that could easily mystify people without a research background; “translational” is not one of them. Translational research simply means to take findings from basic research and advance them into something that is ready to be tested in people in a clinical trial. Yesterday our Governing Board approved … Continue reading Translating great stem cell ideas into effective therapies

A new and improved method for making healthy heart tissue is here

Scientists from the Gladstone Institutes have done it again. They’ve made a better and faster way of generating healthy heart tissue in mice with damaged hearts. With further advancements, their findings could potentially be translated into a new way of treating heart failure in patients. Previously, the Gladstone team discovered that they could transform scar … Continue reading A new and improved method for making healthy heart tissue is here

How research on a rare disease turned into a faster way to make stem cells

If Forest Gump were a scientist, I’d like to think he would have said his iconic line a little differently. Dr. Gump would have said, “scientific research is like a box of chocolates - you never know what you’re gonna get.” A new CIRM-funded study coming out of the Gladstone Institutes certainly proves this point. … Continue reading How research on a rare disease turned into a faster way to make stem cells

From Pig Parts to Stem Cells: Scientist Douglas Melton Wins Ogawa-Yamanaka Prize for Work on Diabetes

Since the 1920s, insulin injections have remained the best solution for managing type 1 diabetes. Patients with this disease do not make enough insulin – a hormone that regulates the sugar levels in your blood – because the insulin-producing cells, or beta cells, in their pancreas are destroyed. Back then, it took two tons of … Continue reading From Pig Parts to Stem Cells: Scientist Douglas Melton Wins Ogawa-Yamanaka Prize for Work on Diabetes

Multi-Talented Stem Cells: The Many Ways to Use Them in the Clinic

CIRM kicked off the 2016 International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) Conference in San Francisco with a public stem cell event yesterday that brought scientists, patients, patient advocates and members of the general public together to discuss the many ways stem cells are being used in the clinic to develop treatments for patients with … Continue reading Multi-Talented Stem Cells: The Many Ways to Use Them in the Clinic

A new way to make heart stem cells could potentially repair the damage of heart disease

Today we’re going to talk about heart failure. It’s a sobering topic given that over 20 million people world wide are currently suffering from this disease. Heart failure happens when the body’s heart can no longer pump blood effectively, which can lead to many nasty side effects and inevitably hastens death. Typical strategies for treating … Continue reading A new way to make heart stem cells could potentially repair the damage of heart disease

Growing Stem Cell Research in California (Video)

How a Gladstone scientist is using bioengineering to push the pace of stem cell research At CIRM, we strive to fund the most promising stem cell research and speed the advancement of stem cell treatments to patients who need them. Because we are a state agency, we generally focus on funding scientists, universities, and companies … Continue reading Growing Stem Cell Research in California (Video)

A Win for Diabetes: Scientists Make Functional Pancreatic Cells From Skin

Today is an exciting day for diabetes research and patients. For the first time, scientists have succeeded in making functional pancreatic beta cells from human skin. This new method for making the insulin-producing cells of the pancreas could produce a new, more effective treatment for patients suffering from diabetes. Researchers at the Gladstone Institutes and … Continue reading A Win for Diabetes: Scientists Make Functional Pancreatic Cells From Skin

CIRM Scholar Helen Fong on Stem Cells and Brain Disease

Meet another one of our talented CIRM Scholars, Helen Fong. She is currently a Research Scientist at the Gladstone Institutes and did her graduate work at the University of California, Irvine. Her passions include stem cells, disease modeling, and playing with differentiation protocols – the processes that tell stem cells to mature into specific tissues. … Continue reading CIRM Scholar Helen Fong on Stem Cells and Brain Disease