Privacy Policy
The California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) is committed to promoting and protecting the privacy rights of individuals.
It is CIRM’s policy to limit the collection of personal information and safeguard the privacy of personal information that it collects or maintains.
CIRM’s policies and practices concerning the collection and management of personal information conform to the requirements of the California Information Practices Act (Civil Code section 1798 et seq.), the Public Records Act (Government Code section 6250 et seq.), Health and Safety Code section 125290.30(g), Government Code sections 11015.5 and 11019.9, and other applicable laws pertaining to information privacy.
CIRM follows these principles in collecting and managing personal information:
The California Information Practices Act defines “personal information” as information that is maintained by an agency and which identifies or describes an individual. Examples may include a person’s name, Social Security number, physical description, home address, home telephone number, education, or medical history.
CIRM collects personal information only as allowed by law. CIRM limits the collection of personal information to that which is relevant and necessary to accomplish a lawful purpose. For example, CIRM needs to know information including the name, title, address, and business or institutional affiliation of those who are applying for CIRM funding. At or before the time that personal information is collected, CIRM informs individuals about the purpose of the request.
CIRM limits its use and disclosure of personal information. The personal information that CIRM collects will not be disclosed, made available, or otherwise used for purposes other than those specified at the time of collection, or for purposes consistent with those specified purposes, unless CIRM obtains the consent of the subject of the information, or unless required by law or regulation. For example, the Public Records Act exists to ensure that government is open and that the public has a right to have access to appropriate information possessed by state government. At the same time, there are exceptions in both state and federal law to the public’s right to access public records. These exceptions serve various needs including maintaining the privacy of individuals. In the event of a conflict between this Privacy Policy and the Public Records Act, or any other law governing the disclosure of records, the applicable law will control.
Individuals have the right to access information about themselves gathered by CIRM and may request a correction of any inaccuracies or incompleteness in that information. Individuals may request copies of their own information, and request corrections of that information, by contacting info@cirm.ca.gov, or the address below.
CIRM protects the personal information that it collects. CIRM uses reasonable information security safeguards to protect personal information against loss, unauthorized access, use, modification, or disclosure.
For example, CIRM uses encryption software to protect the security of individuals’ personal information during transmission of such information through CIRM’s websites. Such personal information is stored by CIRM in secure locations. CIRM employees are trained on procedures for the management of personal information, including limitations on the release of such information. Access to personal information is limited to those CIRM employees whose work requires such access. Confidential information is destroyed according to CIRM’s records retention schedule. CIRM conducts periodic reviews to ensure that proper information management policies and procedures are understood and followed.
CIRM generally encourages all individuals to use appropriate safeguards to secure their computers and the information on those computers.
CIRM does not automatically collect home, business, or email addresses or account information from those who browse CIRM’s websites. CIRM only collects personal information from those who voluntarily provide it. When an individual visits CIRM’s websites, CIRM does automatically collect the visitor’s domain name or Internet Protocol (IP) address, the type of browser or operating system used, the date and time of the site visit, and the Web pages visited and forms downloaded or submitted. This information is used to improve customer service and for audit purposes. CIRM will not distribute or sell any electronically collected personal information to any third party without the written consent of that person. This electronically collected information is exempt from requests made under the Public Records Act.
CIRM’s websites use session cookies to make it easier to use the sites. Cookies are small text files automatically placed on a website visitor’s computer when visiting certain Internet sites. Cookies from CIRM’s sites may be used to store visitor’s preferences, but will not transmit any of the visitor’s personal information to CIRM.
Visitors can prevent cookies from being placed on their computer by accessing their browser’s preferences menu and deleting existing cookies. There also are commercial programs available to help manage cookies. Before taking such steps, individuals should be aware that some websites may not work properly if visitors have chosen to block the placement of cookies on their computer. Visitors can decide for themselves whether enabling cookies outweigh privacy concerns.
Individuals have the right to have any electronically collected personal information deleted by CIRM, without reuse or distribution. Requests to have such information deleted may be sent to info@cirm.ca.gov, or the address below.
Individuals may request additional information about CIRM’s privacy policy. If you would like to request additional information about CIRM’s privacy policy or practices, or if you have comments about CIRM’s privacy policy or practices, you may direct inquiries to info@cirm.ca.gov.
This Privacy Policy is effective February 14, 2025. It reflects current practices and is subject to change without notice.
