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Leader chosen for stem cell funding program By Bruce Lieberman UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER November 11, 2004 Richard A. Murphy, president of the Salk Institute for Biological Studies in La Jolla, was appointed yesterday to a powerful governing board that will decide how the state spends $3 billion on stem cell research. Voters last week overwhelmingly approved Proposition 71, the California Stem Cell Research and Cures Initiative. It will spend $3 billion in state bond proceeds over the next 10 years to jump-start the young field. The appointment places Murphy, 60, on Proposition 71's Independent Citizen's Oversight Committee. The group will have 29 representatives from California universities, medical research institutes, companies and research advocacy groups. Murphy was the second member announced. Dr. Philip A. Pizzo, dean of Stanford University's medical school, was appointed by state Controller Steve Westly on Friday. Human embryonic stem cells are the basic cells of the embryo that develop into every other cell in the body. Scientists are studying how these cells develop, and they hope they can someday manipulate them to treat a long list of diseases and injuries – from diabetes, Parkinson's and Alzheimer's to spinal cord injuries and heart disease. The field is less than a decade old, however, and scientists emphasize that much basic work is needed before stem cells are ever contemplated as a common medical treatment. The field is controversial because it requires the destruction of embryos. Proposition 71 arose after the Bush administration in 2001 placed limitations on the field. The initiative's success marks the first time that a state has committed so much money to a scientific field restricted by the federal government. Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante, who announced Murphy's appointment at the Salk Institute yesterday, said the investment will make California the envy of the world. "I think we will become the hub, the center of the world in terms of this type of research," he said. Murphy is a trained neuroscientist who has led the Salk Institute since October 2000. He said the oversight committee will work hard to avoid any conflicts of interest as it disperses research dollars around the state. "Obviously I should not be involved in any decisions that have to do with the Salk Institute," he said. "The guideline should basically be the best science gets funded, no other guideline, and that's what I think this committee has to ensure." Of the 29 members on the oversight committee, 24 of them will be appointed by California's governor, lieutenant governor, state treasurer, controller and attorney general, the state Senate president pro tempore and the speaker of the state Assembly. The chancellors of UC San Francisco, Davis, San Diego, Los Angeles and Irvine – the five University of California campuses with medical schools – will appoint the remaining five members. Proposition 71 requires that all of the oversight committee's members be appointed by Dec. 12. Bruce Lieberman: (619) 293-2836; [log in to unmask] SOURCE: San Diego Union Tribune, CA http://tinyurl.com/6fc5k * * *Murray Charters <[log in to unmask]> Please place this address in your address book Please purge all others Web site: Parkinsons Resources on the WWWeb http://www.geocities.com/murraycharters ---------------------------------------------------------------------- To sign-off Parkinsn send a message to: mailto:[log in to unmask] In the body of the message put: signoff parkinsn