Children born with sickle cell anemia (SCA), caused by a genetic defect in hemoglobin, have severe anemia and damage to virtually all the body organs: the damage begins in infancy,…

Brain tumors (BTs) are incurable, whether they start in the brain or spread there from other sites (e.g., lung, colon, breast, skin). Indeed, the latter situation is even more common…

The targeted disease is retinitis pigmentosa (RP), a severe form of blindness that runs in families. This disease is not common, yet represents an attractive near term target for stem…

Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a devastating movement disorder caused by the death of dopaminergic neurons (a type of neurons in the central nervous system) present in the midbrain. These neurons…

RNA interference is a naturally occurring means to block the function of genes in our body. We propose that RNA interference can be used to block HIV-1 infection and its…

Alzheimer’s Disease (AD) is a major health problem in the U.S. with 10% of people over the age of 65 and 50% of people over the age of 85 afflicted…

The goal of our team is to capitalize on the remarkable advances in stem cell biology to apply those advances to the treatment of human diseases, disorders, and injuries. We…

With a current prevalence of greater than 170 million individuals world-wide, diabetes has attained epidemic proportions. The widespread secondary complications this disease extract a relentless and costly toll on the…

Five million people in the U.S. suffer with heart failure, resulting in ~60,000 deaths/year at a cost of $30 billion/year. Heart failure occurs when the heart is damaged and becomes…

Stroke is the leading cause of adult disability. As Californians adopt health measures that minimize stroke risk factors, such as high blood pressure and smoking, the number one risk factor…