Stem Cells Conference in Middletown on Friday

Wesleyan will be hosting prominent scientists and ethicists for a day-long conference on Friday, entitled: Stem Cells into the Clinic: Biological, Ethical, and Regulatory Concerns.

Laura Grabel, Professor of Biology at Wesleyan, said that the conference will be attended by faculty and students from around the state who are doing stem cell research, as well as faculty and Wesleyan students interested in the intersection of science and society. It is unusual to have a conference with equal emphasis on the biological science and the public policy implications of stem cell research. Grabel said, "I hope to learn the state of art thinking in terms of stem cells and possible therapies, as well as public policy and ethics relating to stem cells."

The conference is in part a result of the Connecticut Stem Cell Initiative, a state-funded program which annually gives out grants to support stem cell research in Connecticut. Three Wesleyan biologists, Grabel, Jan Naegele, and Gloster Aaron, have received funding from the state for a project whose goal is to understand how embryonic stem cells become neurons. Grabel said, "We are working with mouse models of epilepsy, trying ultimately to suppress seizures by providing embryonic stem cell derived inhibitory neurons that could suppress hyperactivity that leads to seizures."

The keynote speaker will be Irving Weissman, Director of the Institute of Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine at Stanford; he will speak about stem cells both in their normal role and in their role in cancer. Gordon Carmichael (UConn) and Valerie Horsley (Yale) will give technical talks on the biology of stem cells, and Bonnie Steinbock (U. Albany) will speak on "The Ethics of Stem Cell Research." In addition there will be a panel discussion about "Stem Cell Research in the Obama Era," with Steinbock, Steve Latham (Yale), Lori Gruen from the Wesleyan Philosophy Department, and Laura Grabel from Biology.

This exciting conference is free and open to the public. The first session will begin at 9:00 AM on Friday, in the Goldsmith Family Cinema on Washington Terrace. To attend this conference, RSVP to Lisa Sacks (lsacks@wesleyan.edu; 685-3428).