2020 Year in Review

Highlights from a milestone year
We start 2022 with the continued mission of working towards the extraordinary promise of stem cells and regenerative medicine in healthcare. To that end, we are prioritizing several initiatives at the Stem Cell Research Center and at the Alpha Stem Cell Clinic.
Our basic science and tissue engineering programs are moving ahead in defining new approaches for using stem cells to repair or replace diseased or damaged tissues. To support this effort, the UCI School of Medicine has invested in a facility that will enable SCRC investigators to develop and manufacture cell therapeutics on campus. These efforts will build up our Alpha Stem Cell Clinic as a stand-alone clinic and accelerate the testing of cell therapeutics.
 
As a national leader and Orange County’s only combined academic health system and research university, our innovation means unparalleled expertise and care for patients, now and in the future. Below are some highlights from 2021. To see the full year in review, click here.
Thank you for your continued support.
Aileen Anderson, Ph.D.
Center Director 
Professor
Highlights
January 2021
Weian Zhao, Ph.D., works to develop technologies for rapid diagnosis, stem cell therapy, and drug discovery through his research and startups he co-founded
July 2021
The SCRC flow cytometry core launched its newest instrument, the Helios mass cytometer by Fluidigm. This device combines flow cytometry with mass spectrometry to allow single-cell high parameter protein characterization of cellular identity and function on a level unprecedented at the UCI campus.
August 2021
UCI Health COVID-19 patient Michael Nguyen was enrolled in a groundbreaking phase 1 clinical trial led by Dr. Leonid Groysman, assistant clinical director of the UCI Alpha Stem Cell Clinic. This was a first-in-human study to evaluate the safety and potential efficacy of natural killer cells to treat patients with moderate COVID-19 disease.
September 2021
The award will support a comprehensive doctoral, postdoctoral and clinical researcher training program to prepare the current and next generation of leaders in stem cell biology, gene therapy, and regenerative medicine.
October 2021
The SCRC and campus partners have collaborated to complete the renovations, furnishing, and equipment to establish a phase 1 outpatient infusion center on the first floor of Gross Hall where the ASCC team can administer medications and therapeutics in support of stem cell clinical trials.
November 2021
Aileen Anderson, professor of physical medicine & rehabilitation, has been awarded a 30-month, $5.5 million grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine. The funds will be used in the development of a new human neural stem cell therapeutic for treating chronic cervical spinal cord injury.
Click the link below to learn about the many clinical trials underway at the UCI branch of the UCLA-UCI Alpha Stem Cell Clinic.
Click the button below to view the full 2021 Year in Review online.
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