Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) : Daily News in English About KoreaHwang's dream team
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From: Diane
To: ray
Sent: Monday, May 23, 2005 10:38 AM
Subject: Digital Chosunilbo (English Edition) Daily News in English About Korea.htm
Home> Biz/Tech Updated May.23,2005 22:55 KST
Hwang Starts Gathering Stem Cell 'Dream Team'
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Scientific World Hails Korean Cloning Advance
'Cloning King' Urges Caution in Stem Cell Breakthrough
Science Magazine Furious With Korean Papers
'Coning King' in Plans to Globalize Stem Cell Research
U.S. Daily Slams Bush Veto on Stem Cell Research
Prof. Hwang Woo-suk¡¯s successes in embryonic stem cell research are changing the face of the field, and international experts are queuing up to work with him. Hwang has announced he hopes to put together an international ¡°dream team¡± to streamline research into what could be our best hope to cure incurable diseases.
Hwang¡¯s team is to be picked from top research centers in different areas such as stem cell safety, animal testing and clinical trials needed to advance the practical use of stem cell research.
To ensure safety, it appears Cambridge University¡¯s stem cell genetic analysis specialist Roger Pedersen and Johns Hopkins University¡¯s Curt Civin, a specialist in cellular transformations resulting from stem cell transplants, will take part in joint research.
For primate testing, which is the stage before clinical testing on humans, Hwang has joined forces with the University of Pittsburgh¡¯s Prof. Gerald P. Schatten, who co-wrote Dr. Hwang¡¯s groundbreaking article for Science that made headlines last week. Two researchers with Hwang¡¯s team, including Dr. Park Jong-won, were sent to Pittsburgh last year.
Spinal cord injuries and nervous disorders like Alzheimer's and Lou Gehrig¡¯s disease and diabetes are expected to be among the first diseases where stem cell treatment will be tried, because with these disorders there is hope of a complete cure if only one group of cells, be it nerve cells or insulin secretion cells, can be replaced.
For clinical tests on nervous disorders, Hwang¡¯s team has entered into an agreement with the Dr. Ian Wilmut of the U.K.¡¯s Roslin Institute, who cloned Dolly the sheep. If Hwang is able to create embryonic stem cell from patients of Lou Gehrig¡¯s Disease, Wilmut would take the cells and research patient transplants. Nerve cell specialist Lorenz Studer of New York¡¯s Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center would be expected to head research with Alzheimer's disease.
For diabetes research, Harvard University Medical School¡¯s Dr. Douglas Melton appears to be a strong candidate. Melton¡¯s team has the most surplus embryonic stem cells in the U.S., and is conducting research on juvenile diabetes. Both of Melton¡¯s children are afflicted with juvenile diabetes, so he is particularly keen on joint research.
¡°From now on, with basic stem cell research completed, the time until such research can be used practically will depend on how and with whom it is conducted,¡± Hwang said. ¡°We plan to include as many domestic research teams as possible.¡±
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