The San Francisco Business Times has recognized Dr. Maria Millan as one of the most influential women in Bay Area business for her work leading the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), California’s stem cell and regenerative medicine agency. Under her leadership, CIRM has built a robust, growing portfolio as a patient-centric funder, partner, accelerator, and … Continue reading CIRM President & CEO Dr. Maria Millan recognized as one of the most influential women in Bay Area business
Maria Millan
Funding a Clinical Trial for a Functional Cure for HIV
Antiretroviral drugs have turned HIV/AIDS from a fatal disease into one that can often be controlled, but they are not a cure. That’s why the CIRM Board approved $6.85 million for a therapy designed to cure the disease. This is CIRM’s 82nd funded clinical trial. Millions impacted About 38 million people worldwide live with HIV/AIDS, … Continue reading Funding a Clinical Trial for a Functional Cure for HIV
Stem Cell Agency Expands Industry Alliance Program
An ever-growing array of academic and industry resources is required to rapidly translate scientific discoveries and emerging technologies toward safe and effective regenerative medicine therapies for patients. To help, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) is creating a network of Industry Resource Partners (IRP) that will make its unique resources available to help accelerate … Continue reading Stem Cell Agency Expands Industry Alliance Program
CIRM funds research on cancer and heart disease
Dr. Judy Shizuru, Stanford University While stem cell and gene therapy research has advanced dramatically in recent years, many unknowns and questions remain about how best to use these approaches to develop therapies. Nineteen research programs awarded The governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has approved almost $25 million for 19 … Continue reading CIRM funds research on cancer and heart disease
Why Diversity in Clinical Trials Matters
Asthma spacer, photo courtesy Wikimedia Common If researchers want to know whether a new therapy works, they need to test it in the people most affected by the disease. That sounds obvious. Yet too often, clinical trials fail to do just that. A recent example highlights the problem. Researchers tested a promising asthma medication called … Continue reading Why Diversity in Clinical Trials Matters
CIRM Charts the Future of Regenerative Medicine
Dr. Maria Millan, CIRM's President & CEO Reaching a destination without a clear plan is hard. That's why the CIRM Board approved a new Strategic Plan that maps the agency's direction for the next five years. The plan builds on the success of Proposition 71, the voter-approved initiative that created CIRM in 2004. Since then, … Continue reading CIRM Charts the Future of Regenerative Medicine
A New Model for Diversity in Scientific and Medical Research
Nature Cell Biology cover The global pandemic exposed deep inequities in our health care system and highlighted the need for more diversity in scientific and medical research. The virus hit communities of color the hardest. That in part prompted widespread calls for greater diversity at every level of research. New models for research A recently … Continue reading A New Model for Diversity in Scientific and Medical Research
A look back at one year post Prop 14
State flag of California 2020 was, by any standards, a pretty wacky year. Pandemic. Political convulsions. And a huge amount of uncertainty about funding life-saving therapies at CIRM. Happily, all of that turned out OK. We got vaccines to take care of COVID. The election was won fair and square (seriously). Proposition 14 was approved … Continue reading A look back at one year post Prop 14
A podcast exploring the future of stem cell research
Dr. Daylon James, co-host of The Stem Cell Podcas On a recent episode of The Stem Cell Podcast, hosts Dr. Daylon James and Dr. Arun Sharma welcomed CIRM President and CEO Dr. Maria Millan for an in-depth discussion of regenerative medicine and the field's future. The conversation explored how California's culture of innovation helped shape … Continue reading A podcast exploring the future of stem cell research
CIRM funds clinical trials targeting heart disease, stroke and childhood brain tumors
Gary Steinberg (Jonathan Sprague) Heart disease and stroke are two of the leading causes of death and disability and for people who have experienced either their treatment options are very limited. Current therapies focus on dealing with the immediate impact of the attack, but there is nothing to deal with the longer-term impact. The CIRM … Continue reading CIRM funds clinical trials targeting heart disease, stroke and childhood brain tumors