In an example of the rapid expansion of stem cell research in
the state of California, USC announced late last week plans to
build a new stem cell research institute on its health sciences
campus.
Coming on the heels of similar projects at UCLA, UC San
Francisco and UC San Diego, the USC Keck School of Medicine will
use a $25 million donation by local philanthropists Edythe and Eli
Broad to build the Broad Institute for Integrative Biology and Stem
Cell Research. The 215,000-square-foot facility, which has a
construction starting date set for this fall, will be the largest
stem cell research institute in the state.
After California voters in late 2004 approved Proposition 71
““ a sweeping $3 billion stem cell research initiative ““
the fledgling science has grown steadily, but not without a few
bumps in the road.
Bolstered by increased funding and popular approval, the
research has nonetheless been mired in lawsuits from critics who
have questioned the constitutionality of the measure. Opening
statements in those lawsuits are scheduled to begin today.
Advocates of stem cell research champion its potential to treat
a wide range of diseases, including Alzheimer’s disease and
cancer, but the research is controversial because it requires the
destruction of human embryonic stem cells.
But with USC’s announcement, many stem cell research
advocates are confident that the field will continue to grow and be
embraced by the majority of society.
“What Keck did … was amazing; it speaks to how important
this field is,” said Nicole Pagano, a spokeswoman for
California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, the agency created
to oversee the state’s stem cell research operations. She
said the creation of the Broad Institute, along with other similar
institutes across the state, demonstrates the
“tremendous” level of support that stem cell research
holds in California.
Last March, UCLA announced the creation of the $20 million
Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Medicine.
Phil Hampton, a spokesman for UCLA, said a likely combination of
collaboration and competition between UCLA’s and USC’s
institutes will benefit the science. He said UCLA’s institute
recently received the largest of the grants doled out by the state
for stem cell research.
As far as the competition between USC and UCLA, Hampton said he
does not expect the individual researchers to concern themselves
with it.
“The people at the institute here are concerned about
doing their work … and serving society. They’re much more
focused on that than with what others are doing,” he
said.
Eli Broad, who has funded projects at UCLA, including the
construction of Kaufman Hall and a new art center designed by
architect Richard Meier, pledged the money to USC through his
foundation ““ The Broad Foundation ““ to ensure the
viability of the science in Southern California.
“This will hopefully be the anchor of a new biomedical
corridor in the region, where the nation’s most cutting-edge
research is conducted by some of the brightest minds in
science,” Broad said in a press release.
But as the field of stem cell research grows, some groups are
concerned about the lack of federal regulatory oversight.
“This research holds a lot of promise but also holds some
peril ““ because of that we think that this industry needs to
have some oversight,” said Parita Shah, a spokeswoman for the
Center for Genetics and Society, an Oakland-based public interest
advocacy group. “There’s nothing on the federal level
““ it’s sort of a patchwork of state
policies.”
She said the funds from Proposition 71 should be used more
cautiously. “Three billion dollars is a huge sum of money,
especially for a science that has yet to be proven,” she
said.
The Broad Institute will house the recently created Center for
Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine and will likely employ over 100
researchers, who will come from USC’s Health Sciences and
University Park campuses and from Childrens Hospital Los Angeles.
The institute could create as many as 25,000 jobs in the Los
Angeles area.
Jon Weiner, a spokesman for USC Health Sciences, said the
institute does not yet have a governing body but will likely
establish one within the next few months.