Georgia State conference will address controversies in stem cell research (1/8/2008)

When scientists announced nearly 10 years ago they had isolated human cells with the potential to become virtually any type of cell or tissue in the body, a storm of controversy followed.

On one side were supporters who saw the medical potential behind embryonic stem cell research. On the other side were those raising moral, ethical and religious objections to the research, which they argued destroyed a potential human life as scientists extracted the cells.

While new research into stem cells and associated therapies continues, and scientists uncover ways to generate cells with some of the properties of coveted embryonic stem cells, debate over their use continues and will be the subject of a conference at Georgia State University.

Stem Cell Research: Understanding the Controversies will be held Jan. 10, 2008 from 2-5:30 p.m. in the Speakers Auditorium at the Georgia State Student Center.

The conference is sponsored by the Georgia State University College of Law and Center for Law, Health & Society, and co-sponsored by Georgia Tech's School of Public Policy and Center for Ethics and Technology.

"The science is promising and advancing, but often controversial," says Roberta Berry, Health Law faculty fellow at Georgia State's College of Law and an associate professor of public policy at Georgia Tech. "Some kinds of stem cell research raise ethical, religious, legal and policy issues about which people disagree.

"We conceived of the conference as a way to foster understanding of the controversies," she said.

Scheduled speakers include lawmakers and legal and policy experts from Georgia State, Georgia Tech and other institutions. They are:

1. Sen. David Adelman (D-Atlanta), chairman of the Urban Affairs committee and vice chairman of the Special Judiciary committee
   
   
2. Cynthia B. Cohen, senior research fellow, Kennedy Institute of Ethics, Georgetown University
   
   
3. William B. Hurlbut, consulting professor, Neuroscience Institute, Stanford University
   
   
4. Aaron D. Levine, assistant professor, School of Public Policy, Georgia Tech
   
   
5. Anne Drapkin Lyerly, associate professor, department of Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Trent Center for Bioethics, Humanities, and History of Medicine, Duke University
   
   
6. Sen. David Shafer (R-Duluth), chairman of the Regulated Industries and Utilities committee, sponsor the 2007 Saving the Cure Act to promote non-destructive stem cell research
   
   
7. Leslie Wolf, associate law professor, Georgia State University.

Wolf, who served on a stem cell research advisory panel during her time at the University of California-San Francisco, says recent discoveries by some of the same researchers credited with unlocking embryonic stem cells are promising, but don't yet end the debate. The method used to convert skin cells into cells with properties similar to embryonic stem cells - by injecting a quartet of genes into the skin cells through viruses - is itself problematic, she says.

"Although this development is scientifically important, it does not signal the end of the ethical debate for several reasons," she says, "…embryonic stem cell research remains the gold standard within the field."

Doors open at 1:45 p.m. the day of the conference, and RSVPs are encouraged by Jan.7. A reception will begin at 5:30 p.m., following the program. The event is free and open to the public.

Note: This story has been adapted from a news release issued by Georgia State University

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