Miller School Researchers Weigh in on New Stem Cell Policy

From left, Dean Pascal J. Goldschmidt, M.D.; Joshua Hare, M.D.; Ian McNiece, Ph.D., director of experimental and cell-based therapies at the Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute; W. Dalton Dietrich, Ph.D., scientific director of The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis; and Camillo Ricordi, M.D., scientific director of the Diabetes Research Institute, at the news conference.

Miller School physicians and scientists spoke extensively to the news media after President Barack Obama announced on March 9 that an eight-year ban on federal funding for embryonic stem cell research had been lifted.

Over the airwaves, in print, and on the Internet, stem cell experts called the embargo’s end great news for researchers investigating a wide range of diseases. During a news conference in the Clinical Research Building that was attended by The Miami Herald, four South Florida TV stations, and two radio stations, journalists were assured that stem cell research will be pursued in an ethical manner.

During subsequent one-on-one interviews with CNN, CNN International, MSNBC, Associated Press TV, and NPR Radio, Miller School officials expressed optimism that the president’s stem cell policy will spur exciting new research advances and eventual clinical applications.

“There’s a $10 billion supplement for the National Institutes of Health, as far as the stimulus package is concerned,” Joshua Hare, M.D., director of UM’s Interdisciplinary Stem Cell Institute, told the press. “So this lifting of the embryonic stem cell ban will actually have some muscle behind it.”