Director's Message
In 1998 James Thomson of the University of Wisconsin derived the first human embryonic stem cell line, ushering in a new era in the study of human developmental biology. The opportunity to expand our understanding of human development, with the potential application to human health has stimulated a surge of interest in the scientific, ethical and legal implications of research on human embryonic stem cells. Progress had been slowed by the reluctance of the federal government to invest in this research area. Fortunately, the people of California rose to the challenge and approved a bond initiative, Proposition 71. This legislation authorizes the allocation of three billion dollars to support stem cell research and the development of stem cell-based therapies here in California, the birthplace of the biotechnology revolution.
In November 2004, Chancellor Robert Birgeneau asked me to organize a campus-wide effort to crystallize work already underway in the engineering, biology, social science, humanities and law faculties. A diverse group of thirty faculty members contributed to planning sessions to develop a stem cell center organized along several themes of science, law and bioethics. To provide a clinical context for our efforts, we have joined forces with the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), a national leader in cord blood stem cell research and transplantation for treatment of genetic and malignant blood disorders. Dr. Bert Lubin, CHORI President and Director of Medical Research, and I co-direct our joint Berkeley Stem Cell Center.
The Berkeley Stem Cell Center includes faculty, students and staff of seven UC Berkeley colleges and departments, Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and CHORI. We offer laboratory research opportunities in basic cell, molecular and developmental biology, chemistry, bioengineering and chemical engineering. Our research activities are supported by individual grants from the NIH and CIRM, private foundations, a training grant from the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine and private philanthropic donations.
Our efforts also encompass the social sciences, humanities and law. The "Stem Cells and Society" program at the Science, Technology, and Society Center has hosted two major conferences and an on-going lecture series on the social and ethical aspects of stem cell research, and mentors a student outreach and education group that teaches stem cell science and ethics in middle and high schools. Major areas of research include: provenance and procurement in egg and tissue donation; conditions of informed consent; "bench to bedside" relations between the academy, industry, clinicians, the government, and the public; international comparative aspects of stem cell regulation and ethics; diversity and privacy in stem cell banking; and benefit of stem cell research to the people of California. Legal scholarship focuses on intellectual property, diversity and access to care, and health care regulatory issues. "Stem Cell Research: Documenting the Science, Politics, Law, and Ethics" is an ongoing project of the Regional Oral History Office of the Bancroft Library.
The campus is working to create several focal points for stem cell research and teaching. Faculty from the Departments of Bioengineering, Chemical Engineering and Materials Science and Engineering have recently relocated to the new Stanley Hall to form the Tissue Engineering Group. The Hematopoietic Stem Cell Group is centered in the Life Sciences Addition. In 2010, another group will coalesce with the construction of the Li Ka-Shing Center for Biomedical and Health Sciences. We plan to devote two floors of this building to house new and existing stem cell laboratories, as well as faculty from the bioethics and legal communities to create a truly interdisciplinary environment.
Randy Schekman
Founding Director