Surprising discovery by UCI-led team links Piezo1 and cholesterol during brain development

A new University of California, Irvine-led study reveals how mechanical forces and tissue mechanics influence the morphology of the developing brain, and establishes a direct link in neural stem cells between Piezo1, a mechanically-activated ion channel, and intracellular cholesterol levels during neural development.

Evan Snyder named Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering

The American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering (AIMBE) has elected to its College of Fellows Evan Y. Snyder, M.D., Ph.D., professor and founding director of the Center for Stem Cells and Regenerative Medicine at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute. Snyder was nominated, reviewed, and elected by his peers and members of the College of Fellows for his seminal contributions to regenerative medicine.

Scientists show MRI predicts the efficacy of a stem cell therapy for brain injury

Scientists at Sanford Burnham Prebys Medical Discovery Institute and Loma Linda University Health have demonstrated the promise of applying magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to predict the efficacy of using human neural stem cells to treat a brain injury—a first-ever “biomarker” for regenerative medicine that could help personalize stem cell treatments for neurological disorders and improve efficacy. The study was published in Cell Reports.

$4.96 million CIRM grant awarded to Sanford Burnham Prebys to help the tiniest patients

The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has awarded a $4.96 million grant to Sanford Burnham Prebys Professor Evan Y. Snyder, M.D., Ph.D. The funding will allow Snyder to complete pre-investigational new drug (IND)-enabling studies, a step toward securing U.S. Food & Drug Administration (FDA) approval of a human trial for neural stem cells as a potential treatment for newborns who experience oxygen and blood-flow deprivation during birth. Called perinatal hypoxic-ischemic brain injury (HII), the lack of oxygen and blood flow to the brain can cause cerebral palsy and other permanent neurological disorders.