Year 1

Our primary activity in the past year of funding was to enroll 8 new PhD students for our 2021-22 academic year, 3 of whom are supported by this CIRM Educational grant. The remaining 5 admitted students are supported by Stanford’s Medical Student Training Program (3 students) and institutional funding (2 students). Six PhD students admitted in autumn of 2020 were appointed to this grant beginning in their second year of study. Activities for 1st year students include course enrollment, establishing first rotations, matching with peer mentors and 1st year faculty mentors, initiating Individual Development Plans, and attending the Stanford Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine Program retreat. Second year students supported by this grant have all successfully matched to a thesis advisor and are now refining thesis projects and preparing for qualifying exams, which are typically scheduled in spring or summer quarter of the student’s second year. Students pursue research projects focused on various aspects of basic stem cell biology or on the regeneration of neural, heart, muscle, and the epithelial tissues of the skin and intestinal system under the expert guidance of faculty members funded to pursue these projects.