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UC Berkeley to host stem cell research center BY BETSY MASON - Knight Ridder Newspapers Posted on Mon, Nov. 15, 2004 BERKELEY, Calif. - (KRT) - The University of California at Berkeley is poised to take a prominent role in stem cell research as the university's chancellor takes a seat on the Proposition 71 oversight committee and researchers plan for a new stem cell research center on campus. "California is blessed with a number of great research institutions and Berkeley is the best of the best," said Lieutenant Governor Cruz Bustamante at a press conference Monday. Bustamante chose Robert Birgeneau, Berkeley's new chancellor, as one of five appointments to the 29-member Independent Citizen's Oversight Committee that the lieutenant governor is required to make. Last week, he appointed Richard Murphy, chief executive officer of the Salk Institute in San Diego. Earlier in November, State Controller Steve Westly named Philip Pizzo, dean of the Stanford University School of Medicine, to the committee. The committee will oversee the new Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which will dispense about $3 million annually for stem cell research for the next decade. Birgeneau is an accomplished physicist with an impressive work resume that includes M.I.T, Oxford, Yale, the University of Toronto, Bell Laboratories and the National Academies of Science. Birgeneau said he was pleased and honored by the appointment. He added that last year, he watched a colleague at the peak of his physics career die from Lou Gherig's disease. Before the election, Proposition 71 opponents argued that the oversight committee would be rife with conflicts of interest because some members will be leaders of institutions that stand to benefit from state funding. Birgeneau said he is confident he can be impartial. "My role on this committee is to advocate for the public, and I will make sure the money is spent well and ethically," he said. Bustamante said that, while the potential for conflicts of interest would be a challenge, "There's going to be an array of public and private folks who are hopefully going to create a balance on the committee." Proposition 71 mandates a very specific committee make-up, to include members from universities and medical schools, nonprofit academic research institutions such as the Salk Institute, biotech companies and 10 specific disease advocacy groups, which includes groups working on Parkinson's, Alzheimer's and Lou Gherig's disease. Members are to be chosen by the governor, lieutenant governor, treasurer, controller, speaker of the Assembly, president pro tempore of the Senate and chancellors of five University of California campuses. Birgeneau said Proposition 71 was important for the field of stem cell research because it will fund work on newly created stem cell lines, work specifically excluded from federal funding in 2001. According to the Bush administration's policy, funding from the National Institutes of Health could only be used for research on adult stem cells or embryonic stem cell lines already in existence. "The few lines that are available are unreliable and cannot be propagated indefinitely," Birgeneau said. UC Berkeley researchers are already working on a new synthetic substance that would help them to grow new embryonic stem cell lines. "We've been provided with an unprecedented opportunity," said UC Berkeley biologist Randy Schekman. "We're eager to begin." UC Berkeley has already formed a committee to plan a new stem cell research center, said Schekman, who will chair the committee. Schekman was also on the Prop. 71 planning commission. He has a personal interest in the work; his wife was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease six years ago. Schekman believes many states will hurry to follow California's example for fear of being left behind and watching their best researchers flock to California. "I don't think you're going to see the ink dry on this before even Republican-led states like Texas will do what they can," he said. Bustamante agreed. "If you look across the country, every single microclimate of stem cell researchers are now looking to come to California on this issue. It's this century's gold rush." --- SOURCE: Biloxi Sun Herald, MS http://tinyurl.com/6mknv * * *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