March Monthly Digest

In March, CIRM released its 2009 Annual Report, which highlights CIRM's progress toward new stem cell-based therapies. The report features letters from Robert Klein, chair of the Governing Board, and Alan Trounson, CIRM President, in addition to feature stories about CIRM grants and spotlights on Leukemia, Alzheimer's disease, macular degeneration and arthritis.

• Read the Annual Report

New Videos

CIRM released a new video about the Bridges to Stem Cell Research Awards, which are helping to train the future stem cell workforce at community colleges and California state universities.

New Features

CIRM posted a new feature story that describes recent advances and current challenges toward developing stem cell-based therapies for neurological disease like MS, ALS and Alzheimer's, Huntington's and Parkinson's diseases.

• Mending the Mind: Toward stem cell-based therapies for neurological disease

Upcoming Events

A series of town hall forums will update Californians on the progress in pushing stem cell therapies to the cliniic

Los Angeles April 15
San Diego April 20
San Francisco June 15

• Get more info about the town hall forums

News

The CIRM Governing Board approved a concept proposal for the Targeted Clinical Development Awards which will provide critical funding for early clinical development of stem cell based therapies.

• Read the press release

CIRM clarified its position on the use of NIH-approved human embrynoic stem cell lines

• Read the press release

Meetings and Webinars

In early March, CIRM hosted its second annual Grantee Meeting which brought together the investigators and trainees that CIRM is funding.

• See the meeting website

In conjunction with the Grantee Meeting, CIRM hosted a Grant Writing webinar to provide advice on composing competitive applications for CIRM funding.

• See the webinar videos