UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center

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If you were a piece of lab equipment, what would you be? 🔬 A steady centrifuge? A sharp-eyed microscope? Watch to see what our trainees picked and tell us yours in the comments! #UCLAStemCell #StemCellResearch #LabLife #STEMEducation

Last month, the BSCRC sponsored the 2026 MBI Annual Retreat, which showcases student research and provides a venue for for connection & collaboration. We're always thrilled to see trainee participation at these events!

Congratulations to UCLA's Dr. Donald Kohn on his election to the National Academy of Medicine! The physician-scientist has spent nearly four decades bringing new gene therapies from the laboratory to patients with blood and immune diseases. https://ow.ly/Xf1B50ZZ317

To celebrate #StemCellAwarenessDay, we've put together a quick explainer on stem cells: what they are and why they matter! 🧪 #UCLAStemCell #ResearchPowersProgress #StemCellResearch

As a dermatologist, Dr. Amy Vandiver sees signs of damage and aging written across her patients’ skin. As a scientist, she’s investigating what those changes mean for the rest of the body. Learn more: https://ow.ly/nnsR50ZXoQW

A UCLA-led team has received a four-year, $2.7 million grant from the National Institutes of Health to study how Zika virus damages the developing eye and to identify drug-based strategies that could protect babies’ vision. https://ow.ly/1pUO50ZX0sX #ResearchPowersProgress #InfectiousDiseases #Zika

Time travel for cells? Almost. 🧬⏪ iPSC technology lets researchers reprogram adult cells back to an undifferentiated state, so they can become nearly any cell type. Visit our glossary page at stemcell.ucla.edu/glossary to learn more! #UCLAStemCell #StemCellResearch #WordoftheWeek #Reprogramming

The Nano Lab is opening in the Dept. of BioSciences, Rice University, Oct 2026! 🧠🦉 We’ll be profiling and perturbing the molecular cues that shape the human brain using single-cell functional genomics and cortical organoids.

Congrats to UCLA scientist Tara TeSlaa, recipient of an NIH Director’s New Innovator Award! 🎉 With up to $2.375M over 5 years, her lab will develop a new way to map how specific cell types use nutrients inside the body. Read more: https://ow.ly/aleG50ZV36Y

Don't let zombie (senescent) cells sneak up on you. Webinar in 1 week @uclastemcell.bsky.social @austad.bsky.social @erictopol.bsky.social @trowbridgelab.bsky.social @macauleylab.bsky.social ab.bsky.social @profbrunt.bsky.social @therasmussenlab.bsky.social nathanshockcenters.org/when-zombie-...

What can skin tell us about how the rest of the body ages? UCLA dermatologist-scientist Amy Vandiver uses stem cells and lab-grown skin models to ask whether mitochondrial DNA damage merely marks aging — or helps drive it. 🔗 https://ow.ly/LIrL50ZTabr

Stem cell research, but make it ✨artistic✨. 📷 credit: 1: Timothy Archibald / UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center 2-5: Ann Johansson / UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center #UCLAStemCell #StemCellResearch #ScienceIsArt

The ability to alter DNA is central to several research projects at the BSCRC — from developing treatments for muscular dystrophy to engineering crops that are more nutritious and adaptable to climate change. CRISPR is one of the tools making that possible. 💪🌱 #StemCellResearch #GeneEditing #CRISPR

UCLA scientists have received $4.6M in CIRM grants to advance new stem cell-based treatments for irreversible vision loss and infertility. Congratulations to Dr. Aya Barzelay-Wollman and to Dr. Amander Clark, who is a co-investigator on a Caltech project. 🔗 https://ow.ly/MKry50ZR79T

Check your mail — the BSCRC has sent you some postcards!📮🖼️ 📷 credit: 1: Milo Mitchell/UCLA Health 2-5: Elena Zhukova/UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center #UCLAStemCell #StemCellResearch #RegenerativeMedicine #ResearchPowersProgress #Postcards

BSCRC Director Dr. Thomas Rando is featured in an illustrated article produced by the American Federation for Aging Research, BBC StoryWorks and the Global Coalition on Aging, as part of the “Age Reimagined” global series. Explore the article + documentary short ➡️ bit.ly/4xDBetk #HealthyAging

A UCLA research team has engineered a new type of immune cell that attacks atherosclerotic plaques — the fatty buildup inside artery walls that drives most heart attacks and strokes. https://ow.ly/8TC850ZPUe2 #ResearchPowersProgress #CardiovascularDisease #HeartHealth #StemCellResearch

More fun facts about our 2026-2027 BSCRC trainees! Meet Lauren🐶, Rachel📷, Derek⚔️, Antoni✈️, and Miranda♟. #UCLAStemCell #StemCellResearch #ResearchPowersProgress #FunFacts #NarratorTrend

Some of our favorite #Bruin moments over the years! 🐻🔬 In case you missed these snapshots in our Microscopy Marvels exhibit, explore the digital gallery here: https://ow.ly/9nKI50ZNxpy #UCLA

The human immune system is comprised of a network of cells that work together to keep the body healthy. But what if there was a way to harness and bolster this defense system to fight diseases like cancer? Enter: immunotherapy. 🔬 #UCLAStemCell #StemCellResearch #WordOfTheWeek #CancerResearch

UCLA scientist Patricia Nano explains how brain organoids — or 3D mini brains — can yield new insights into human brain development and tumor formation. #ResearchPowersProgress #StemCellResearch #UCLAStemCell #Neuroscience #Organoid

UCLA scientists have developed a scalable method for turning blood stem cells from donated cord blood into uniform batches of cancer-fighting T cells engineered to recognize a protein found in many solid tumors. https://ow.ly/ffrf50ZL409 #ResearchPowersProgress #CancerResearch #TCRTherapy

Our lab research specialists getting trained on a brand new instrument in the UCLA BSCRC Flow Cytometry Core! The BD FACSDiscover™ S8 Cell Sorter is coming soon 🧫

Natalie Staubus is the first liver transplant patient in the world to receive an experimental procedure pioneered by UCLA's Dr. Jeffrey Veale that uses stem cells to train her body to not reject the donated organ. https://ow.ly/ab6c50ZJAZ0 #ResearchPowersProgress #StemCellResearch

Using lab-grown brain organoids, donated human tissue and fused "assembloids," UCLA researchers are uncovering how radial glia — the stem cells that build the human cerebral cortex — decide which types of brain cells to make. 🧠 🔗https://ow.ly/l39Q50ZJ1e8 #StemCellResearch #Neuroscience

Introducing some of our 2026-2027 BSCRC trainees! Meet Liang-Wei 🏰, Niloufar 🎨, Dan 🥾, and Sara🧩. Stay tuned for Part 2 to learn more about our trainees! #UCLAStemCell #StemCellResearch #ResearchPowersProgress #FunFacts

SAVE THE DATE 🗓️: The 23rd Annual Stem Cell Symposium is being held on February 5, 2027. Full speaker lineup and registration details coming soon! #UCLAStemCell

Our 2026-2027 BSCRC trainee cohort boasts avid board gamers, outdoor adventurers and boba connoisseurs, to name only a few! #StemCellResearch #UCLAStemCell #ResearchPowersProgress #STEMEducation #STEMJourney stemcell.ucla.edu/news/meet-ou...

You may have heard that DNA contains genetic codes for specific traits. But did you know that certain chemicals can impact how those genes are expressed? To learn more, dive into this post on epigenetics! 🧬The Allard lab #UCLAStemCell #StemCellResearch #WordoftheWeek #Epigenetics

Watch these immune cells spring into action. 🧠🔬 This microscopy video captures microglia responding to a laser injury. Microglia are constantly surveying the brain and responding to injury or infection. Credit: Fanny Etienne/De Biase Lab

This week’s word is one of our favorites! Organoids are the technological backbone to several research projects at the BSCRC — swipe through to learn how they enable stem cell discoveries! 🔬🥼 #UCLAStemCell #StemCellResearch #WordoftheWeek #Organoid

Meet Jennifer Chia — a hematopathologist and stem cell researcher who also happens to be a rock climber and prolific knitter. 🔬🧗‍♀️🧶 https://ow.ly/qppA50ZC5WR

Congratulations to neurosurgeon Dr. Linda Liau for being awarded the 2026 UCLA Younes Nazarian Medical Humanitarian Prize, given to a @uclahealth.org practitioner whose clinical care, medical research and technological innovations support the future of well-being. stemcell.ucla.edu/news/dr-lind...

Introducing a brand-new series: Word of the Week! Dive into our inaugural post to learn how our cells harness the power of recycling to survive 📖♻️ Visit our glossary page: https://stemcell.ucla.edu/glossary #UCLAStemCell #StemCellResearch #Immunology #WordoftheWeek

Researchers first, accidental artists second. Explore a palette inspired by the vivid microscopy images our stem cell scientists captured in the lab. 🔬🎨 #UCLAStemCell #Microscopy #ScienceAsArt

Virologist Melody Li's scientific career began when she watched the movie “Outbreak" as a kid. Today, she studies the immune system’s response to viral infections and spends her free time going on off-trail hiking adventures. 🦠⛰️ 🔗 https://ow.ly/ITPj50Zxfki

SAVE THE DATE 🗓️: The 23rd Annual Stem Cell Symposium is being held on February 5, 2027. Full speaker lineup and registration details coming soon! #UCLAStemCell

A new UCLA study led by Dr. Melody Li finds that a lesser-known SARS-CoV-2 protein may help drive immune overactivation and weaken blood-vessel barriers in the heart — offering clues to severe #COVID19 and #LongCOVID symptoms. Read more: https://ow.ly/RkPz50ZwKfY

UCLA scientists are building "cell villages" to uncover the genetics of brain cell fitness: how readily cells divide and how well they survive. 🔗 https://ow.ly/pIGn50ZvYw7 #ResearchPowersProgress #StemCellResearch

Step into "Microscopic Marvels: The Art and Science of Stem Cell Research," on view at Powell Library UCLA Library through August 19. This captivating exhibit offers a visual journey into the extraordinary science at our center. https://ow.ly/IqPe50Zva1F #ResearchPowersProgress

Watch a muscle fiber take shape. 🔬 This microscopic video captures a muscle cell fusing with a developing muscle fiber, with cell membranes visible in purple and yellow. The Rando Lab uses live-cell imaging to understand how cells coordinate muscle regeneration. Credit: Tamas Nagy/Rando Lab

UCLA is proud to be part of a new $27.7M ARPA-H THRIVE-funded collaboration to develop affordable, personalized gene-editing therapies for children with inborn errors of immunity (IEI). 🔗 tinyurl.com/4s4ntc8h #ResearchPowersProgress

BSCRC member Dr. Yvonne Chen talks to Fox News @ Night about how personalized CAR-T cell therapies are offering hope and results for cancer patients today. www.foxnews.com/video/639987... #ResearchPowersProgress