News and Events
Upcoming Events
March 5, 2026
March 19-20 Grants Working Group Meeting
February 27, 2026
March 9 Governance Subcommittee Meeting
February 23, 2026
March 5 Science Subcommittee Meeting
February 5, 2026
February 11-12 Grants Working Group Meeting
Latest Press Releases
January 29, 2026
CIRM approves new $100 million plan to accelerate genetic therapies for patients with rare diseases
December 11, 2025
CIRM approves over $160M to support preclinical and clinical research, advances education opportunities and access to clinical trials
October 30, 2025
CIRM awards $27 million to launch novel program designed to bring cell and gene therapies to underserved California communities
CIRM’s Blog: The Stem Cellar
The Stem Cellar
- Closer to Cures: Stanford researcher Crystal Mackall discusses progress on clinical trials for rare cancers of the brain and spine with no known cure. March 6, 2026Written by Holly Alyssa MacCormick In 2023, the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) funded a clinical trial led by Stanford researcher Crystal Mackall, MD, to investigate a possible therapy for rare brain and spinal tumors that arise from a specific genetic mutation, known as H3K27M. These cancers are devastating. Each year, about 1,000 people […]
- Closer to Cures: Cory R. Nicholas, CEO and co-founder of Neurona Therapeutics, discusses progress in clinical trials for patients with epilepsy that does not respond to drugs. February 26, 2026Written by Holly Alyssa MacCormick Roughly 3 million adults living in the United States have epilepsy, and about 400,000 of these people live in California, according to the CDC. Of these people, about one-third to half continue to have seizures that do not respond to medications on the market. It’s those patients who don’t respond to medications that Neurona Therapeutics is hoping to help with a stem-cell derived approach currently in clinical trials. […]
- CIRM board supports a rare disease funding plan, administrative changes January 30, 2026Written by Holly Alyssa MacCormick South San Francisco, CA, January 30, 2026 – As many as 1 in 10 people in the U.S. has a rare disease, many of which have no known cure. A new program by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) could change this by funding novel ways to develop multiple […]