Accelerating Stem Cell Therapies For Unmet Medical Needs

Ira Pastor, ideaXme life sciences ambassador and founder of Bioquark, interviews Dr. Maria Millan, President and CEO of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine.

Ira Pastor comments:

Today we are going to journey into the always fascinating topic of stem cells and regenerative medicine. We’re going to head over to the west coast of the USA, to the headquarters of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) in San Francisco, an organization that was created in 2004 when voters approved a state proposition which allocated $3 billion to fund this exciting area of medicine.

Dr. Maria Millan Develops Stem Cell Treatments

Joining me is Dr. Maria Millan, President and CEO of CIRM.

Dr. Millan is a physician-scientist who has devoted her career to treating and developing innovative solutions for children and adults with debilitating and life-threatening conditions.

After receiving her undergraduate degree from Duke University where she started her focus on immunology research, she obtained her M.D. degree at UMDNJ, and then went on to complete her surgical training and post-doctoral research at Harvard Medical School’s Beth Israel Deaconess Medical Center.

After a transplant surgery fellowship at Stanford University School of Medicine, she began her academic career with a pediatric and adult transplant surgery practice. In parallel, she continued her bench research at Stanford and became associate professor and director of the Pediatric Organ Transplant Program.

Dr. Millan served on multiple leadership teams including the Faculty Senate and the Dean’s faculty committee at Stanford University School of Medicine and served on the Children’s Hospital operations committee. She has been published in the areas of cell biology, immunology and clinical organ transplantation.

She also ventured into the private sector in 2006 to join StemCells, Inc., one of the earliest stem cell organizations and the first to enter into an FDA-regulated clinical trial with a stem cell treatment for children with a fatal neurodegenerative disease.

California Institute for Regenerative Medicine

Dr. Millan then joined the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) in December 2012 where she led the formation of the Alpha Stem Cell Clinics Network, a network of California medical centers that specialize in rigorous and high-quality clinical trials and top-tier medical care for patients participating in these trials. This clinical network is successfully supporting over 45 clinical trials and was recently expanded to include 5 programs composed of 7 medical centers and their affiliated hospitals.

On this episode we will hear from Dr. Millan:

About her background, how she developed an interest in science, medicine and transplant surgery, and how she segued into the stem cell industry. A background and history of CIRM and its initial decade-long journey. About Dr. Millan’s role at CIRM as CEO. Areas of regenerative medicine she is most “translationally” excited about, including any surprises and challenges. Future visions for the “next-generation” of CIRM. Her views on the international state of affairs in regenerative medicine (i.e. Japanese conditional approvals, China special purpose medical zones, medical tourism, etc.) Learnings from CIRM that can be applied for other public-private healthcare “mega-projects.”

Credits: Ira Pastor interview video, text, and audio.

Follow Ira Pastor on Twitter: @IraSamuelPastor

If you liked this interview, be sure to check out our interviews with XPRIZE Lead Researcher Dr. Roey Tzezana and Dr. Anthony Atala, Director of the Institute for Regenerative Medicine!

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