Trailblazing Research

Since 1981, when the University of California, San Francisco’s Gail Martin, PhD, co-discovered embryonic stem cells in mice and coined the term embryonic stem cell, UCSF has been a key leader in the stem cell field.

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Stem Cells

Patient Care

The great hope for stem cell research is the development of treatments for devastating diseases. UCSF researchers are at the forefront of this effort. The ultimate goal of these studies is to transplant specialized cells, such as heart cells, into patients to regenerate damaged tissues.

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Research

Since the success in 1998 by the University of Wisconsin’s James Thomson in deriving human embryonic stem cells from embryos, the stem cell research field has exploded. The discovery by Japan’s Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD, in 2006, of a way to reprogram adult skin cells back to an embryonic-like state signified a second exponential advance.

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Education

When human embryonic stem cell research began in the late 1990s, only two university labs in the United States were conducting studies – one at the University of Wisconsin and one at UCSF. Both efforts involved a senior scientist and a handful of junior colleagues.

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UCSF Resources

Our Experts

  • Arnold Kriegstein, MD, PhD

    Arnold Kriegstein, MD, PhD

    Director, Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF

  • Rik Derynck, PhD

    Rik Derynck, PhD

    Co-Director, Eli and Edythe Broad Center of Regeneration Medicine and Stem Cell Research at UCSF

  • Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD

    Shinya Yamanaka, MD, PhD

    Professor of Anatomy, UCSF School of Medicine; Senior Investigator, Gladstone Institute of Cardiovascular Disease