Stem Cells

As soon as he heard the words “stem cell” Lorry I. Lokey said he wanted in. Lokey, the philanthropist and founder of Business Wire, jumped in big time, contributing more than $75 million to help construct the country’s largest stem research building. The Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building officially opened its doors today at Stanford, becoming what Lokey calls “the crown jewel” of the scientific world.

“We’re looking 10 years from today, and it’s just possible because of this building and the some of the best brains in the world who inhabit it, that 200 million lives will be extended or saved,” Lokey recently told me.

He believes stem cells will have a major impact on some of the prime killers in the United States, such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, thus preventing much human suffering and premature death.

“This is the coming science,” he said, “just as Silicon Valley became the country’s big industry.”

Earlier this week, I stopped by the building and got a glimpse of some of its precious inhabitants – tiny stem cells clinging to the sides of a petri dish like rain drops on a window. The cells I saw were iPS, or induced pluripotent cells, taken from a patient with a rare skin disease and then reprogrammed to behave just like embryonic stem cells. These unique cells have the potential to turn into any kind of cell, with myriad possible applications in human disease. The researcher, Vittorio Sebastiano, PhD, briefly held up the plastic dish with its rare occupants and then carefully placed it back on the shelf in a warm incubator, in reverential fashion. I felt I was in the presence of something very significant.

Some 550 researchers in 33 different labs will move into the building between now and the end of the year. The building also has 60 “hotel” benches, where visiting scientists or clinicians can come and do research as well. They’ll work with the full range of stem cells, including embryonic and adult cell cells, cancer stem cells and disease-specific stem cell lines. These scientists, who hail from all over the world, will have many chances to mix and mingle, tackling conditions as diverse as cancer, spinal cord injury, heart problems and autoimmune disease. Just think of the possibilities.

Previously: Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building to open on the Stanford campus and The largest stem cell research building in the U.S.

Stanford might be lovingly referred to as “The Farm,” but it’s also home to research facilities that are as beautiful as they are high-tech.

The newest installation: The Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building, which will be officially opened this Wednesday, is the largest dedicated stem cell research building in the country, measuring in at 200,000 square feet of floor space. Better yet for its 550 occupants, it was financed entirely with private funding, meaning the researchers it houses will be free from the “vagaries of embryonic stem cell politics.” Krista Conger writes in Inside Stanford Medicine:

The entire facility represents an unprecedented commitment to the promise of all types of stem cell research – from stem cells derived from embryos to induced pluripotent stem cells (or iPS cells) derived from fetal or adult tissues to cancer stem cells that give rise to tumors and cause disease relapses. Stem cell researchers have long maintained that it is critical to continue to conduct research on all types of stem cells, which have the capacity to become many types of cells and tissues, in order to move the field forward more quickly. Bringing all of these researchers under one roof will enable easy collaboration and data sharing, and together they can benefit from the advanced equipment and technical support available in the core facilities.

Previously: The largest stem cell research building in the U.S.
Photo by Mark Tuschman

Do bricks and mortar really matter in the scientific enterprise? Irv Weissman, MD, thinks so. And that’s why Weissman, director of the Stanford Institute for Stem Cell Biology and Regenerative Medicine, thinks that the new Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building is the perfect location to stimulate collaborative efforts between researchers and clinicians.

I spoke to Weissman last week about the new 200,000-square-foot facility – considered the largest research building of its kind in the world – for a 1:2:1 podcast. We talked about the building’s major benefactor, Lorry I. Lokey, and the critical role that the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM) has played in stem cell research to date. Weissman also told me why he believes having art prominently displayed in a research facility is so vital for the scientific endeavor. (A giant, two-ton, blue glass sculpture by Dale Chihuly and donated by philanthropist Sue McCollum hangs in the building’s atrium.)

At the end of the interview I asked Weissman what he thinks about when he looks at the building from the outside. He told me he saw a home for what he hopes is a great scientific enterprise. He marvels at the speed at which stem cell research has matured. “Not long ago, this was just a bare idea.” He then reflected on the long term and the future of stem cell science: “We’re making a home that’s going to last a century here at Stanford.”

In case you missed it, a poll released late last week shows that most Americans support research using embryonic stem cells. As reported by HealthDay News’ Amanda Gardner, in a survey of 2,113 adults conducted in late Sept., 72 percent said scientists should be allowed to use embryonic stem cells left over from in vitro fertilization procedures to study ways to treat or prevent disease:

“There is now overwhelming public support for using embryonic stem cells in biomedical research,” said Humphrey Taylor, chairman of the Harris Poll, a service of Harris Interactive. “Even among Catholics and born-again Christians, relatively few people believe that stem cell research should be forbidden because it is unethical or immoral.”

Among other findings, 66 percent of respondents agreed with the statement, “If most scientists believe that stem cell research will greatly increase our ability to prevent or treat serious diseases we should trust them and let them do it.” And 51 percent agreed that if the federal government doesn’t fund this type of research, “the United States will fall behind other countries in terms of leadership in the development of new drugs and preventing diseases.”

Gardner noted that the survey took place during “a critical juncture in legal arguments surrounding stem cell research in the United States.” Just one month prior, U.S. District Court Judge Royce Lamberth ruled that federal funds could not be used to support embryonic stem cell research. That decision is now being appealed.

Related: U.S. Court of Appeals suspends ban on stem cell funding, Stanford stem cell expert weighs in on district court ruling

UPDATE: CIRM has posted the winners of the stem cell poetry contest, plus a couple of humorous non-entries that made me giggle. Check them out.

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Did you wake up with a little extra bounce in your step today? Could it be due to last night’s announcement about the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, you wonder? More likely it’s because today is the third annual Stem Cell Awareness Day, which is sponsored by the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine (CIRM). According to CIRM:

The day is a unique global opportunity to foster greater understanding about stem cell research and the range of potential applications for disease and injury.

A variety of events are taking place today in California and across the nation to commemorate the day, including poetry and art contests, symposiums and laboratory tours. So go ahead. Enjoy your day. But take a minute to think about the stem cells that got you here. (Walking to school uphill, no doubt. Both ways. In the snow.)

According to CIRM, the image above shows a line of human embryonic stem cells derived under controlled conditions that could make the cells useful for transplantation. The nuclei in green are stained for a protein that is found only in embryonic stem cells. Blue represents the DNA of the surrounding feeder cells.

Photo courtesy Julie Baker, PhD

UPDATE 2: If you missed this morning’s Senate subcommittee hearing, it’s now available as an archived webcast here.

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UPDATE: Washington Post writer Rob Stein reported on what happened during the hearing in this blog entry.

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For those of you who are interested, Sen. Thomas Harkin (D-Iowa) is holding a hearing this morning on “The Promise of Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research.” It’s being webcast live beginning at 7 am PST. NIH director Francis Collins, MD, PhD, and several stem cell researchers are slated to talk.

Previously Congress plans quick move on stem cell bill

The Denver Post reported today that U.S. Rep. Diana DeGette (D-CO) wants to move forward quickly with legislation to allow federal funding of human embryonic stem cell research. DeGette hopes to have some resolution by the time Congress recesses on October 8 before the upcoming elections:

“The fact that people are running against these hard-right Tea Party
candidates really will help them because the vast majority of Americans are for stem-cell research,” said DeGette, a longtime champion of the research who has seen legislation she’s written on the issue pass twice only to be vetoed by then-President George W. Bush.

The Senate is moving forward as well; as reported by the Los Angeles Times, Arlen Specter (D-PA) spoke in support of similar legislation on Monday:

…in his statement, Specter emphasizes that Congress did not intend for the Dickey-Wicker amendment to preclude funding for human embryonic stem-cell research. Everyone agrees that the law prevents the federal government from paying scientists to create the stem cells. But once created, the cells themselves are supposed to be eligible for NIH funding, Specter says.

Previously: Third time’s the charm for stem cell legislation?

In honor of its 30th anniverary, the October issue of DISCOVER includes a section on 11 prominent scientists’ predictions about the next 30 years. Biologist Ian Wilmut, PhD, was chosen to share his thoughts on the future of genetic engineering and stem cell research, and he strikes a hopeful tone:

The coming together of a number of different biological fields – stem cell biology, molecular genetics, and chemical engineering – will provide lots of new medical opportunities. Over the long term we should be able to control degenerative disorders like Parkinson’s, motor neuron disease, and heart disease. We will have the opportunity to understand the molecular basis of these diseases and to identify drugs that may be able to prevent symptoms, or to identify stem cell populations that can be implanted to replace damaged or dead cells.

Wilmut goes on to mention the work of Stanford’s Marius Wernig, MD, who recently transformed skin cells directly into nerve cells. “Techniques like that may lead to novel therapies while avoiding the primary downfall of stem cell therapies: the development of tumors,” Wilmut notes.

William McQuillen reporting for Bloomberg:

The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington today put on hold a ruling by U.S. District Judge Royce Lamberth while it reviews that decision. The Justice Department argued the judge’s ruling will cause irreparable harm to researchers, taxpayers and scientific progress.

Lifting the ban allows the government to continue funneling tens of millions of dollars to scientists seeking cures for diseases such as Parkinson’s, spinal cord injuries, and genetic conditions.

Previously: Request for stay of stem cell injunction denied, Judge Lamberth’s stem cell opinion is disappointingly bad, Stem cell ruling throws Stanford researcher’s project into limbo, AAMC urges Congress to reinstate federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, and Stanford stem cell expert weighs in on district court ruling

The Nature blog The Great Beyond is reporting that the U.S. District Court judge who issued an injunction against the use of federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research has refused a government request for a temporary stay.

Judge Royce Lamberth derided the idea that the injunction could cause irreparable harm to ongoing research projects and pointed out that if, as expected, the plantiffs file for a summary judgment this week, the case could be decided within the next two months:

Defendants are incorrect about much of their “parade of horribles” that will supposedly result from this Court’s preliminary injunction. . . . Additionally, since plaintiffs anticipate filing their motion for summary judgment by September 10, (id. at 13 n.4,) the length of time this preliminary injunction will be in place should be limited.

The judge’s order seems to agree with from the plantiffs’ Saturday response to the administration’s request for a stay (also reported by The Great Beyond) in which they also criticize National Institutes of Health Director Francis Collins’ response to the injunction:

Defendants’ claims of irreparable harm absent a stay rest on speculation, misinformation, and hyperbole,” the memorandum says, adding in a footnote, “In addition, the Collins declaration is replete with exaggerations and factual mischaracterizations.

You can read the full text of Judge Lamberth’s decision here (.pdf).

Previously: Judge Lamberth’s stem cell opinion is disappointingly bad, Stem cell ruling throws Stanford researcher’s project into limbo, AAMC urges Congress to reinstate federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research, and Stanford stem cell expert weighs in on district court ruling