Ep. 285: “Funding the Future” Featuring Dr. Jonathan Thomas

Guest: Dr. Jonathan Thomas "JT" is the President and CEO of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM), an organization that provides funding for stem cell research with the purpose of accelerating treatments for patients in need. He talks about working to ensure diversity in clinical trials and developing treatments that are affordable and accessible to patients. He also discusses the progress during the twenty years since CIRM's inception, training the next generation of scientists, and balancing support for basic and clinical research. (41:03) Featured Products and Resources: Register now for ISSCR 2025 in Hong Kong! Cell Quality Attributes of Human Pluripotent Stem Cells The Stem Cell Science Round Up Regulating Naive Pluripotency – Scientists used a targeted rapid protein degradation system to show that GABPA is a master pluripotency regulator. (1:36) Skin Wound Healing – A spatiotemporal atlas of human skin wound tissues identifies FOSL1 as a critical driver of re-epithelialization. (11:50) Bone Marrow Stem Cell Niches – The bone marrow niche orchestrates hierarchy in stem cells and immune tolerance. (20:49) Synthetic Organizer Cells – Synthetic organizer cells self-assemble around stem cells and produce morphogens. (30:50) Image courtesy of Dr. Jonathan Thomas Subscribe to our newsletter! Never miss updates about new episodes. Subscribe