Kevin Marks, CIRM's new General Counsel. Photo courtesy Modern-Counsel.com Following the passage of Proposition 14 CIRM has hired five new employees to help increase the team’s ability to respond to new challenges and responsibilities. Prop 14, which was approved by voters in November 2020, gives CIRM $5.5 billion in new funding. Those funds mean CIRM … Continue reading CIRM Builds Out World Class Team With 5 New hires
UC San Francisco
CIRM-funded kidney transplant procedure progresses
Kidney transplant surgery. Medeor Therapeutics, which is running a CIRM-funded clinical trial to help people getting kidney transplants, just got some really good news. The US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has just granted their product Regenerative Medicine Advanced Therapy (RMAT) designation. That’s a big deal because it may allow them to apply for faster … Continue reading CIRM-funded kidney transplant procedure progresses
CIRM-funded clinical trial testing a new approach to treat Parkinson’s disease
Dr. Krystof Bankiewicz Brain Neurotherapy Bio, Inc. (BNB) announced the treatment of the first patient in clinical trial testing a new approach to treat Parkinson's using MRI-guided neurosurgery to inject gene therapy into damaged regions of the brain. This CIRM‑funded trial, led by Dr. Krystof Bankiewicz, is one of 64 clinical trials supported by the … Continue reading CIRM-funded clinical trial testing a new approach to treat Parkinson’s disease
CIRM Board Approves Clinical Trials Targeting COVID-19 and Sickle Cell Disease
Coronavirus particles, illustration. Today the governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) approved new clinical trials for COVID-19 and sickle cell disease (SCD) and two earlier stage projects to develop therapies for COVID-19. Dr. Michael Mathay, of the University of California at San Francisco, was awarded $750,000 for a clinical trial testing … Continue reading CIRM Board Approves Clinical Trials Targeting COVID-19 and Sickle Cell Disease
How developing a treatment for a rare disease could lead to therapies for other, not-so-rare conditions
Logan Lacy, a child with AADC Deficiency: Photo courtesy Chambersburg Public Opinion Tomorrow, the last day in February, is Rare Disease Day. It’s a day dedicated to raising awareness about rare diseases and the impact they have on patients and their families. But the truth is rare diseases are not so rare. There are around … Continue reading How developing a treatment for a rare disease could lead to therapies for other, not-so-rare conditions
The Top CIRM Blogs of 2019
This year the most widely read blog was actually one we wrote back in 2018. It’s the transcript of a Facebook Live: “Ask the Stem Cell Team” event about strokes and stroke recovery. Because stroke is the third leading cause of death and disability in the US it’s probably no surprise this blog has lasting … Continue reading The Top CIRM Blogs of 2019
A future scientist’s journey
All this week we have been highlighting blogs from our SPARK (Summer Program to Accelerate Regenerative medicine Knowledge) students. SPARK gives high school students a chance to spend their summer working in a world class stem cell research facility here in California. In return they write about their experiences and what they learned. The standard … Continue reading A future scientist’s journey
Breakthrough for type 1 diabetes: scientist discovers how to grow insulin-producing cells
Matthias Hebrok, PhD, senior author of new study that transformed human stem cells into mature, insulin-producing cells. Photo courtesy of UCSF. Most people don’t think about their blood sugar before enjoying a meal, dessert, or bike ride. But for people with type 1 diabetes (T1D), every minute and every action revolves around the number on … Continue reading Breakthrough for type 1 diabetes: scientist discovers how to grow insulin-producing cells
CIRM’s 2018 Annual Report
CIRM's 2018 Annual Report sums up the agency accomplishments over the last year in just 24 pages, The report look at the highlights, progress, and the impact CIRM has had on stem cell research over the last year. But it’s also a look forward at the challenges ahead and the people who will help us … Continue reading CIRM’s 2018 Annual Report
Progress to a cure for Bubble Baby Disease
Evie, a former "bubble baby" enjoying life by playing inside a giant plastic bubble 'Bubble baby disease' will one day be a thing of the past. That’s a bold statement, but I say it with confidence because of the recent advancements in stem cell gene therapies that are curing infants of this life-threatening immune disease. … Continue reading Progress to a cure for Bubble Baby Disease