Stem cell summit tackles thorny research issues

The World Stem Cell Summit is meeting in Madison, WI this week, and one of the chief topics of discussion is the future of clinical research in the field. Up to now, the stem cell research world has limited most of their work to animal models. Now that more companies are reaching the point of clinical studies, the industry is grappling with ways to structure these novel trials. But researchers are also calling for better animal models that could give them more insight into a stem cell therapy's potential.

Another key point of discussion has been the future of government funding of clinical trials involving both embryonic stem cells as well as induced pluripotent stem cells. Federal research funding has been flat for years, eroding the overall amount available as inflation sinks the value of the research dollar. An economic crisis and soaring federal deficit leaves the future of such funding in doubt.

"The temptation is to say ‘Well, we should just cut spending on everything,'" said Larry Goldstein, professor of cellular medicine at the University of California-San Diego. "But the fact is that as a proportion of what we invest our national capital in, scientific research is a tiny fraction, yet it reaps enormous benefits and is in fact an investment."

- read the story from the university's Badger Herald

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