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
Join us to hear how stem cell and gene therapy are taking on diseases of aging
It is estimated that as many as 90 percent of people in industrialized countries who die every day, die from diseases of aging such as heart disease, stroke, and cancer. Of those still alive the numbers aren’t much more reassuring. More than 80 percent of people over the age of 65 have a chronic medical … Continue reading Join us to hear how stem cell and gene therapy are taking on diseases of aging
Lack of diversity leaves cloud hanging over asthma drug study
Asthma spacer, photo courtesy Wiki Media Creative Commons THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST If you want to know if a new drug or therapy is going to work in the people it affects the most you need to test the drug or therapy in the people most affected by the disease. … Continue reading Lack of diversity leaves cloud hanging over asthma drug study
Stem Cell Agency Board Approves Roadmap for Next Five Years
Dr. Maria Millan, CIRM's President & CEO It's hard to get somewhere if you don't know where you are going. Without a map you can't plan a route to your destination. That's why the CIRM Board approved a new Strategic Plan laying out a roadmap for the Stem Cell Agency for the next five years. … Continue reading Stem Cell Agency Board Approves Roadmap for Next Five Years
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
Stem Cell Agency Board Invests in Therapy Targeting Deadly Blood Cancers
THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST Dr. Ezra Cohen, photo courtesy UCSD Hematologic malignancies are cancers that affect the blood, bone marrow and lymph nodes and include different forms of leukemia and lymphoma. Current treatments can be effective, but in those patients that do not respond, there are few treatment options. Today, … Continue reading Stem Cell Agency Board Invests in Therapy Targeting Deadly Blood Cancers
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