October 2nd is Stem Cell Awareness Day,  which brings together organizations and individuals around the world in support of stem cell research, with the aim of increasing awareness and education. UC Santa Barbara stem cell researchers are presenting educational outreach seminars at Santa Barbara High School, San Marcos High School, Cate School, and Santa Barbara City College. In addition, tours of the Laboratory for Stem Cell Research and Engineering, our CIRM-funded core facility, are offered to local community groups to provide a glimpse of the exciting ongoing research on human pluripotent stem cells. For more information, see http://www.cirm.ca.gov/stemcellday.
 

Graduate Student in the Spotlight: Britney Pennington Shares About Stem Cells, Teaching, and Taking Care of the Environment

In the latest rankings by the Centre for Science and Technology Studies at Leiden University in the Netherlands, UC Santa Barbara has placed second on the annual list of the top 500 major universities in the world in terms of impact in the field of the sciences.

Biomedical research at UC Santa Barbara has catapulted to a position of leadership in the arena of stem cell biology, offering progress toward cures for vision diseases such as macular degeneration. Stem cell research has the potential to transform the practice of medicine, by replacing diseased tissue with healthy new cells. Interdisciplinary teams of UCSB researchers –– including world-renowned faculty members recruited from the U.S. and Britain –– are leading the charge. The university’s newly renovated lab space is critical to the mission.