THIS BLOG IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIO CAST Immunotherapy is a type of cancer treatment that uses a person's own immune system to fight cancer. It comes in a variety of forms including targeted antibodies, cancer vaccines, and adoptive cell therapies. While immunotherapies have revolutionized the treatment of aggressive cancers in recent decades, they must be created … Continue reading One step closer to making ‘off-the-shelf’ immune cell therapy for cancer a reality
UCLA
Celebrating Stem Cell Awareness Day
THIS BLOD IS ALSO AVAILABLE AS AN AUDIOCAST ON SPOTIFY The second Wednesday in October is celebrated as Stem Cell Awareness Day. It's an event that CIRM has been part of since then Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger launched it back in 2008 saying: ”The discoveries being made today in our Golden State will have a great … Continue reading Celebrating Stem Cell Awareness Day
National Academy of Medicine honors CIRM Grantees
YOU CAN ALSO LISTEN TO THIS BLOG AS AN AUDIO PODCAST ON SPOTIFY As someone who is not always as diligent as he would like to be about sending birthday cards on time, I’m used to sending belated greetings to people. So, I have no shame in sending belated greetings to four CIRM grantees who … Continue reading National Academy of Medicine honors CIRM Grantees
Building a better brain (model) in the lab
Leica Picture of a brain organoid: courtesy National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, NIH One of the biggest problems with trying to understand what is happening in a disease that affects the brain is that it’s really difficult to see what is going on inside someone’s head. People tend to object to you trying … Continue reading Building a better brain (model) in the lab
Celebrating a young life that almost wasn’t
Often on the Stem Cellar we feature CIRM-funded work that is helping advance the field, unlocking some of the secrets of stem cells and how best to use them to develop promising therapies. But every once in a while it’s good to remind ourselves that this work, while it may often seem slow, is already … Continue reading Celebrating a young life that almost wasn’t
Latest CIRM TRAN1 awards focus on CAR-based cell therapy to treat cancer
Earlier this week the CIRM ICOC Board awarded $14.5 million to fund three translational stage research projects (TRAN1), whose goal is to support early development activities necessary for advancement to a clinical study or broad end use of a potential therapy. Although all three projects have their distinct area of focus, they all utilize CAR-based … Continue reading Latest CIRM TRAN1 awards focus on CAR-based cell therapy to treat cancer
CIRM Board Approves Continued Funding for SPARK and Alpha Stem Cell Clinics
Yesterday the governing Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) approved $8.5 million to continue funding of the Summer Program to Accelerate Regenerative Medicine Knowledge (SPARK) and Alpha Stem Cell Clinics (ASCC). This past February, the Board approved continued funding for stem cell focused educational programs geared towards undergraduate, masters, pre/postdoctoral, and medical … Continue reading CIRM Board Approves Continued Funding for SPARK and Alpha Stem Cell Clinics
New Study Shows CIRM-Supported Therapy Cures More than 95% of Children Born with a Fatal Immune Disorder
Dr. Donald B. Kohn; Photo courtesy UCLA A study published in the New England Journal of Medicine shows that an experimental form of stem cell and gene therapy has cured 48 of 50 children born with a deadly condition called ADA-SCID. Children with ADA-SCID, (severe combined immunodeficiency due to adenosine deaminase deficiency) lack a key … Continue reading New Study Shows CIRM-Supported Therapy Cures More than 95% of Children Born with a Fatal Immune Disorder
Hitting our Goals: Accelerating to the finish line
Way, way back in 2015 – seems like a lifetime ago doesn’t it – the team at CIRM sat down and planned out our Big 6 goals for the next five years. The end result was a Strategic Plan that was bold, ambitious and set us on course to do great things or kill ourselves … Continue reading Hitting our Goals: Accelerating to the finish line
CIRM funded stem cell therapy could one day help stroke and dementia patients
Image Description: Microscope images showing brain tissue that has been damaged by white matter stroke (left) and then repaired by the new glial cell therapy (right). Myelin (seen in red), is a substance that protects the connections between neurons and is lost due to white matter stroke. As seen at right, the glial cell therapy … Continue reading CIRM funded stem cell therapy could one day help stroke and dementia patients
The Stem Cellar 