About Alpha Clinics

California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) Alpha Clinics Network logo

The CIRM-funded Alpha Clinics form a network of leading medical centers across California, specializing in delivering stem and gene cell clinical trials. The Network’s success is driven by its ability to expedite treatment delivery through strong partnerships with patients, medical providers, and clinical trial sponsors.

These partnerships enable:

  • Patient-centered clinical trials with the highest standards of care and research
  • Strategic collaboration with academic and industry teams developing innovative stem and gene cell therapies
  • Leveraging resources to promote efficiency, acceleration, and increased chances of success

The Network supports both CIRM-funded and non-CIRM-funded clinical trials by academic and industry sponsors.

If you are a patient or a trial sponsor interested in learning more about the services offered through our Alpha Clinics Network contact us at alphaclinics@cirm.ca.gov.

Our Alpha Clinics

In 2015, the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) made an initial investment of $24 million to establish the Alpha Stem Cell Clinics Network. This network was created to accelerate the development and delivery of stem and gene cell therapies by funding clinical trials and supporting the infrastructure needed to conduct them. Through its remarkable progress, the program has flourished into an $80 million initiative that has supported over 240 clinical trials. Its success in increasing the number of clinical trials led to an expansion to nine sites in 2022. 

The nine Alpha Clinics include UCSD, UCLA, USC/CHLA, Stanford, UCI, UC Davis, Cedars Sinai, City of Hope, and UCSF. These clinics are dedicated to advancing the field of regenerative medicine, conducting innovative research, and offering transformative treatments to patients.

Please visit each clinic’s dedicated webpage to learn more about participating Alpha Clinics, including information on enrolling in current and future clinical trials.

Alpha Clinics Network Symposium

Every year, CIRM sponsors a public conference to educate, explore key issues in this developing field, and highlight results in the pursuit of stem cell and gene therapies becoming the standard of care. CIRM’s 7th annual Alpha Clinic Network Symposium will be a hybrid event. Registrants will be sent a Zoom link about one week prior to the event. See below for more information.

Upcoming Events

  • 7th Annual Alpha Clinics Network Symposium 
    October 25, 2024 
    9 AM – 5 PM
    Pacific Design Center – Silver Screen Theater
    687 Melrose Ave, West Hollywood, CA.
    Register here to attend – Hybrid event: in-person and virtual

The objective of this funding opportunity is to establish geographically diverse and culturally responsive centers of excellence to (1) support access to FDA-authorized clinical trials involving cell, gene and/or approved regenerative medicine treatments, (2) make these treatments broadly available to California patients, and (3) provide workforce career development opportunities. The CCCEs will work in partnership with the Clinical Infrastructure Network and other CIRM programs to expand equitable access to communities and populations that would otherwise have more limited opportunities in the absence of these centers.

Please see the INFR 8 RFA for full details:

Applications for Community Care Centers of Excellence are available to access in the grants management portal. Applications are due by 2 PM on August 15, 2024.




CCCEs Informational Webinar Recording
The CIRM Patient Access team, on May 15, 2024 and July 2, 2024, hosted an informational webinars that reviewed CIRM’s Clinical Infrastructure Network, eligibility requirements, and review process and included a Q&A session. 

CIRM Alpha Clinic Videos

The 2nd Annual CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic Symposium was held in March, 2017 at the City of Hope. You can watch videos of all the speakers on the City of Hope YouTube channel.

The City of Hope Alpha Stem Cell Clinic is a novel program dedicated to the rapid research and development of stem cell-based therapies for cancer, HIV/AIDS, hemophilia and other diseases. The research unit is also embedded within a very active nursing unit, the Day Hospital. In this unit, “Hybrid Nurses” – versed in both clinical research and patient care – are accelerating stem cell trials by testing therapies in an authentic outpatient setting.

An Overview of the CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinic at UC San Diego Health.

In May 2015, the three Network programs from UCSD, City of Hope, and the UCLA/UCI consortium joined CIRM at the City of Hope campus for a kickoff workshop to mark the beginning of the endeavor. This short video is based on that workshop and features interviews with each trial center’s program director.​

For more Alpha Clinic videos, visit our CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinics channel on YouTube and our CIRM channel on The Science Network.

Find Out More:

Alpha Clinics in the News
Alpha Clinics Trials