UCSF Broad Stem Cell Center

15 years ago today, @ucsanfrancisco.bsky.social celebrated the opening of the Ray & Dagmar Dolby Regeneration Medicine Building on our Parnassus campus. Take a look back at scenes from opening day and move-in, and see what our researchers are working on today: stemcell.ucsf.edu/2024-2025-uc...

UCSF Broad Stem Cell Center hiring ad. Modern building and lush greenery. Announces faculty position in gene editing delivery. Includes a QR code for applying.

The UCSF Broad Stem Cell Center and Department of Surgery invite applications for a new faculty position focused on the development of delivery tools for gene editing to enable cutting-edge gene therapies. Please share and apply 🔗 aprecruit.ucsf.edu/JPF05914

Dissecting gene regulatory networks governing human cortical cell fate - Nature Systematic screening of transcription factors reveals conserved mechanisms governing cortical radial glia lineage progression across primates and provides a framework for functional dissection of gene regulatory networks in human cortical neurogenesis.

Nature research paper: Dissecting gene regulatory networks governing human cortical cell fate

go.nature.com/4qBG5rp

10 awesome discoveries from UC research in 2025 A year of new treatments, new technologies, new ways to stay safe during disasters and new insights on the mysteries of the galaxy, our planet and our past.

Researchers in Diana Laird's lab discovered the decline in female fertility w/age isn’t driven solely by eggs; other cells in the ovary, including glia and fibroblasts, influence ovarian health & aging—part of UC’s top discoveries of 2025. #UCSFProud

www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/10-awes...

Kyle Cromer's team published collaborative work with Stanford in @bloodadvances.bsky.social using CRISPR tools to create a mouse model of a rare juvenile leukemia. Congrats to Roshani Sinha, Devesh Sharma, & Benjamin Lesch for co-authoring this publication. More: ashpublications.org/bloodadvance...

Conservation and alteration of mammalian striatal interneurons - Nature An analysis of cell-type diversity in brain samples from a variety of mammalian species, both during development and in adult animals, reveals that the TAC3 initial class of striatal interneurons is c...

Our new manuscript, led by Emily Corrigan, examines inhibitory neuron diversity across approximately 160 million years of evolutionary divergence, as part of BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network (BICAN) developing brain atlas package: www.nature.com/articles/s41...

State of the University Address Live viewing page of the annual UCSF Chancellor's State of the University Address.

Happening TODAY! Tune in at noon for #UCSFSOTU 2025 with Chancellor Sam Hawgood. Hear about UCSF’s accomplishments from the past year and how our institution is innovating to adapt for the future. tiny.ucsf.edu/HuBTYF

Cover of this week's Nature showing a brain rendering Cover caption from the journal: Brain development: Our ability to process information into complex emotions, behaviours and decisions relies on the rich diversity of cell types that make up the human brain. Uncovering the molecular and cellular events that take place during brain development could reveal not only the mechanisms that give rise to this diversity but also shed light on how this process might go awry in neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism and schizophrenia. In this week’s issue, the BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network (BICAN) builds on its previous work creating atlases of cell types in the adult mouse, non-human primate (NHP) and human brains to present cell-type atlases of the developing human, mouse and NHP brains. Across a suite of papers, nine of which are published in Nature, the researchers uncover the complex programs through which cell types emerge during brain development in humans and animals, revealing both the shared and unique features of the human brain. The latest work, along with future research directions, is summed up in a Perspective article by Tomasz Nowakowski and colleagues

New issue of Nature - with NINE studies on #brain #development from the BRAIN Initiative Cell Atlas Network (BICAN) 🧠🧪🔬

An amazing set of resources for all scientists working on the brain!

🧠 Immersive feature:
www.nature.com/immersive/d4...

🧠 Perspective:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Candid photo of Zara Weinberg. She has short red hair, bangs and glasses. She is laughing.

The Leading Edge Fellows gathered this week to celebrate Zara Weinberg, a beloved member of our community. Our 7th cohort of Leading Edge Fellows (2026) will be named in her honor.

The Zara Weinberg Leading Edge Cohort application is now open! Due Feb 2.

www.leadingedgesymposium.org/apply/

We love this!! ❤️ #UCSFProud

Expanding horizons of CRISPR applications beyond genome editing Clustered regularly interspaced short palindromic repeats (CRISPR) technologies have rapidly evolved beyond genome editing, transforming fields such as molecular diagnostics, biosensing, transcription...

Happy World CRISPR Day!

The CRISPR revolution began with genome editing, but the platform has evolved into a versatile molecular toolkit with wide-ranging applications.

The current issue of TiG includes a Review of these applications.

Check it out!

www.cell.com/trends/genet...

Join us today, 10/16, for Getting to Patients! Dr. Claire Clelland will share “Developing CRISPR gene therapy for C9orf72 FTD/ALS: the path ahead to clinic” with Special Guests and perspectives from a family with the C9orf72 gene tiny.ucsf.edu/14kshU @ucsfsurgery.bsky.social

Congrats to Kyle Cromer, PhD, on receiving an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award! Dr. Cromer is working on better treatments for sickle cell disease by trying to help the bone marrow produce more healthy red blood cells. 🧬 #UCSFProud www.ucsf.edu/news/2025/10...

Why Does Female Fertility Decline So Fast? The Key Is the Ovary New research shows that the surrounding cells and tissues of the ovary play a crucial role in how eggs mature and how quickly fertility wanes.

A new imaging technique and single-cell sequencing reveal a deeper understanding of ovarian aging.

@ucsanfrancisco.bsky.social & @czbiohub.bsky.social study could be key to strategies for extended fertility and healthier aging. www.ucsf.edu/news/2025/10...

For #StemCellAwarenessDay, a look at a human neuron grown from stem cells, captured by Dr. Yonatan Perez, a Kriegstein Lab postdoc alum. This work could inform therapies for neurological disorders and brain regeneration.

Congratulations to our Broad Center members (Bruce Conklin, Tippi MacKenzie, Jingjing Li, Benoit Bruneau, and Holger Willenbring) and colleagues on their newly awarded CIRM Discovery (DISC0) grants!

From cloudy mornings to golden sunsets—the UCSF Broad Stem Cell Center always has a view worth sharing. 🌿☀️ Thanks to Lael and Cassie from the IRM Admin Team for these shots! #UCSF #Dolby #KarlTheFog #OfficeViews #CampusViews #GoldenHour

Congratulations, Tomasz Nowakowski, PhD! 🧬🧠✨ #UCSFProud

YouTube video by University of California The University of California: Boldly Californian

The University of California provides transformative educational opportunities, life-saving health care and research that moves our state forward and powers our economy.

Stand with UC for the future of California: bit.ly/46LvcMo

youtu.be/OpvhTJtxF5o?...

Two UCSF Researchers Are Named Pew Latin American Fellows Two new Pew Latin American fellows, Beatriz De Moraes, PhD, and Lilian Gomes de Oliveira, PhD, will each receive a $30,000 annual stipend for two years to support their work at the crossroads of immun...

Read more at the UCSF News article here: www.ucsf.edu/news/2025/08...

The Pew Charitable Trusts today announced the 2025 class of the Pew Latin American Fellows Program in the Biomedical Sciences. The 10 postdoctoral fellows from five Latin American countries—Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, Chile, and Mexico—will receive two years of funding to conduct research in laboratories throughout the United States. They will work under the mentorship of prominent biomedical scientists, including alumni from the Latin American fellows program and the Pew Scholars Program in the Biomedical Sciences. “Scientific exchange and collaboration foster new discoveries that help advance human health for all,” said Donna Frisby-Greenwood, Pew’s senior vice president for Philadelphia and scientific advancement. “Pew is proud to support this outstanding group of young researchers, whose pursuits will help pave the way to biomedicine’s future.” Fellows who choose to return to Latin America to launch their own research labs will receive additional funding from Pew. Nearly 70% of program participants have taken this path, which has helped cultivate a robust biomedical research community in Latin America. Scientists in the 2025 class are exploring a range of research topics, including examining how brain tumors evolve to resist therapy, the ways in which immune cells reduce chronic pain during pregnancy, and how the nervous system rebuilds after injury.

Congrats to Lilian Gomes de Oliveira, PhD, who joins the 2025 class of Pew scholars and fellows! As a Pew Latin American Fellow, Lilian will explore how the Zika virus disrupts cerebral cortex development during the second trimester of pregnancy. Learn More: www.pew.org/en/about/new...

What’s the story? The protocol provides step-by-step methods to efficiently and safely edit the genome in human hematopoietic stem cells (HSCs) using the CRISPR/AAV editing platform, from preparing the repair template, maintaining the HSCs, and evaluating the editing outcomes. What did they learn? The researchers demonstrated that using their CRISPR‑Cas9 plus AAV protocol on human HSCs leads to highly efficient genome editing and robust production of functional erythroid cells in vitro. What’s the impact? The piece, published in STAR Protocols journal, provides a reliable, efficient way to edit human HSCs while keeping them healthy, paving the way for developing new genome editing therapies for blood disorders.

New from the Cromer Lab detailing methods for achieving high-efficiency CRISPR-based genome editing in primary hematopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs). Discover more @cp-starprotocols.bsky.social | star-protocols.cell.com/protocols/4394

So proud of Kaylee who won a #GordonConference Travel Award! 🥇 🤩 Congrats to @brisapalikuqilab.bsky.social for a fantastic #GRS and Profs Karina Yaniv and Anne Eichmann for an outstanding #Angiogenesis conference @ucsfchildrens.bsky.social @ucsfstemcell.bsky.social

Congratulations, Jaela Caston and @elizabethcrouch.bsky.social!! We’re #UCSFProud to celebrate you as 2025 Gilliam Fellow & Advisor 🎉 @ucsanfrancisco.bsky.social

www.hhmi.org/programs/gil...

You’ll also hear from a sickle cell warrior who received gene therapy earlier this year — followed by an open Q&A where attendees can ask questions directly to the expert and the patient.
🗓️ Sat, Aug 16
🕚 11:00 AM
📍 Zoom link sent upon registration (due Aug 15)
www.eventbrite.com/e/sickle-cel...

🧬 The gene therapy landscape for sickle cell is evolving—join the UCSF Sickle Cell Center of Excellence for a powerful virtual town hall with Dr. Mark Walters, an expert in sickle cell and cell/gene therapy. This session is perfect for patients, caregivers, healthcare professionals, and advocates.

Thank you to all the incredible trainees, program directors, patient advocates, and inspiring speakers who joined us for the 2025 #CIRMTraineeConference!

We’re grateful for the insights you shared and the community we continue to build together in advancing #RegenerativeMedicine. #BlueskyBiotech

Astrocyte specification in the mouse septum is shaped by both developmental origin and local signals Nature Neuroscience - The relative contribution of intrinsic and extrinsic factors to astrocyte heterogeneity is unknown. Using heterotropic transplantation of septal astrocytes with distinct...

New in @natneuro.nature.com: Astrocyte fate isn’t hardwired — it’s shaped by where they grow up. Local neuron signals — not just where they come from — shape their identity. A key step toward understanding brain health and developing new therapies. rdcu.be/eyoIX #NewResearch

Curing Genetic Disease Before Life Begins with Tippi MacKenzie Fetal surgeon Tippi MacKenzie on curing genetic disease before birth using in utero therapy.

🎧 Don’t miss this podcast with Dr. Tippi MacKenzie, Broad Center Director, on in utero therapies & the future of regenerative medicine.

📍19:40: vision for the Center → discover, engineer, heal.

🔗 bit.ly/46qjYgi

#UCSF #StemCells #FetalSurgery #GeneTherapy #GenomeEditing #DiscoverEngineerHeal

Science x Art Science x Art - Innovative Genomics Institute (IGI)

Did you know that the illustrations in our resources like CRISPRpedia are free to use for non-commercial, educational purposes? Check out our Science x Art page to see a selection of work from our designers & artists. Tag us to show us how you're using them! innovativegenomics.org/science-x-art/ 🧬🎨