CIRM announced two sets of awards today that both should make major impact including its first clinical trial via Geron and $38 million for 27 basic biology studies. First Clinical Trial. Today CIRM awarded $25 million to support Geron’s FDA-approved clinical trial for spinal cord injury. This is CIRM’s first award to a for-profit company […]
CIRM funds $25 million for Geron trial, $38 million for basic biology Read More »
For many of us in the biomedical research field, we have always wanted to be a professor and run our own research lab even if it meant the gauntlet of the dreaded academic job search. For some it is fair to say that that goal is really a passion, a dream. However, to achieve
Advice for the academic job search Read More »
The tragic 9.0 earthquake and tsunamis that hit Japan a few weeks ago are having lasting consequences not only for Japan, but also for the world via radiation. One area of particular concern is the radiation that has leaked and is continuing to leak from the damaged nuclear reactors. At this point, the radiation
A reality check on the radiation spreading across the globe Read More »
CIRM announced today that it had appointed Ellen Feigal, M.D., to be its first VP for Research Development. Dr. Feigal will begin the job on Jan. 31. Dr. Feigal is a graduate of UC Davis Med School (where I am writing this from; go UC Davis SOM!) and is currently Executive Medical Director for Global
CIRM Appoints Ellen Feigal, UC Davis Grad and Executive Med Director of Amgen as VP Read More »
There is a kind of invisible cultural wall between patients such as cancer patients and biomedical scientists like me, but this wall does not have to exist and indeed it is a negative wall as patients, scientists, doctors, agencies, and advocates can achieve far more together than apart. But the wall is surprisingly strong. Last
My Cancer: how I became an advocate too Read More »
This is the first post in a series focusing on stem cell advances related to specific diseases. Today we discuss Huntington’s Disease and a paper that came out yesterday in the journal Neuron that provides some significant insight into the mechanisms behind the disease. It is entitled: Huntingtin Is Required for Mitotic Spindle Orientation and
Huntington’s Disease, a major new finding Read More »
Update: Now in 2020 it seems that peer review remains very problematic. The Scientist has a few pieces out on the trouble with peer review including my personal favorite: I Hate Your Paper. That article rings so true as do the quotes from the scientists. Peer review in the stem cell field and the IPS cell
I Hate Your Paper: Dr. No and the Editors that are ruining peer review Read More »
Update in 2020: It was kind of wild to read this post now so many years later as an “old” professor, seemingly ages from the realm of new PIs (principle investigators). What do you think? You can read more about the current state of our lab here. It’s an exciting feeling coming into a new
Advice for new PIs part I: start before you start Read More »
A paper just came out in PNAS entitled “Promotion of direct reprogramming by transformation-deficient Myc“. The main thrust of this paper is that the tumorigenic and pluripotency-related functions of Myc could be separated. It focused primarily on the lesser studied LMyc. The topic of the intertwined good (pluripotency) and bad (tumorigenicity) functions of Myc, addressed
Tumorigenicity and Pluripotency teased apart? Not yet for Myc Read More »