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

CIRM Builds Out World Class Team With 5 New hires

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

New technique maps out diversity and location of cells in tissue or tumor

Image Description: Alex Marson is part of a team of researchers who developed a new technique to map the specialized diversity and spatial location of individual cells within a tissue or tumor. Photo Credit: Anastasiia Sapon All the cells in your body work together and each can have a different role. Their individual function not … Continue reading New technique maps out diversity and location of cells in tissue or tumor

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

UCSF Nursing Professor Joins CIRM Board

Elena Flowers, PhD, RN, newest member of the CIRM Board: Photo courtesy UCSF Elena Flowers, PhD, RN, an associate professor of physiological nursing at the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) is joining the Board of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), the state’s Stem Cell Agency. Dr. Flowers was appointed to the Board … Continue reading UCSF Nursing Professor Joins CIRM Board

CIRM-funded kidney transplant procedure eyeing faster approval

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 means they may be able to apply … Continue reading CIRM-funded kidney transplant procedure eyeing faster approval

CIRM Funded Trial for Parkinson’s Treats First Patient

Dr. Krystof Bankiewicz Brain Neurotherapy Bio, Inc. (BNB) is pleased to announce the treatment of the first patient in its Parkinson’s gene therapy study.  The CIRM-funded study, led by Dr. Krystof Bankiewicz, is one of the 64 clinical trials funded by the California state agency to date. Parkinson’s is a neurodegenerative movement disorder that affects … Continue reading CIRM Funded Trial for Parkinson’s Treats First Patient

CIRM joins forces with US Department of Defense to fight COVID

Photo courtesy of Gabrielle Lurie / San Francisco Chronicle / Polaris Small state agencies like CIRM don’t normally get to partner with a behemoth like the Department of Defense (DOD), but these are not normal times. Far from it. That’s why we are both joining forces with the National Institutes of Health to fund a … Continue reading CIRM joins forces with US Department of Defense to fight COVID

Saying farewell to an old friend

There are some people who, when you think of them, always bring a smile to your face. Dr. Bert Lubin was one of those people. Sadly, we lost Bert to brain cancer two days ago. But the impact he had, not just as an advocate for stem cell research but as a pioneer in sickle … Continue reading Saying farewell to an old friend