At its July meeting, the CIRM governing Board was honored to hear from Caleb Sizemore, a delightful and courageous young man who was born with Duchenne muscular dystrophy, a fatal genetic disease that causes progressive degeneration and weakening of muscles. Many children with DMD don’t live past their 20s often due to faltering lung and heart muscles. 

In 2016, Caleb enrolled in Capricor Therapeutics’ CIRM-funded trial testing a stem-cell treatment to improve heart scarring caused by DMD. In this video, he speaks to the board about how his hope and faith led him to participate in the trial and has helped him stay positive despite his disorder.

Video produced by Todd Dubnicoff/CIRM