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by Sven Gustafson | Oakland Business Review
Friday March 07, 2008, 1:45 PM
Oakland University and Beaumont Hospitals host a regional conference on stem cell research that organizers say could deliver a boost to the university's profile and to research efforts under way across the state.
The event comes as a group called the Stem Cell Research Ballot Question Committee presses a petition campaign to place a measure on the Nov. 4 ballot loosening Michigan's restrictions embryonic stem cell research.
The university this week announced it will hold the First Midwest Conference on Stem Cell Biology and Therapy May 9-11 at Meadow Brook Hall on OU's campus, which straddles Auburn Hills and Rochester Hills.
The conference, which also is being funded by St. John Health Providence, has been in planning since August 2007. Speaking will be researchers from Canada; Sweden; the Czech Republic; the National Institutes of Health; Harvard Medical School; the University of Wisconsin; and the University of Pittsburgh.
In addition, the University of Michigan and Wayne State University also are partnering, and it's hoped that more participants will join in the coming weeks, said Rasul Chaudhry, professor of biological sciences at OU.
"It is the first of its kind in Midwest," said Chaudhry, who hopes the conference will attract "200-plus" attendees. "Mostly the conferences on stem cells, they have been either on the East Coast or West Coast, like California or Massachusetts, Boston. We now have an opportunity to have such a conference in our neighborhood."
The three-day, weekend conference will focus on the latest advancements in research on stem cell biology, tissue engineering and therapy involving embryonic, adult and umbilical cord stem cells. Andras Nagy, senior scientist at Mount Sinai Hospital in Toronto, will deliver the keynote address, while U.S. Sen. Carl Levin also is scheduled to speak.
A panel discussion will examine ethical and political issues raised in particular by embryonic stem cell research. Some researchers in Michigan have complained that state laws restrict their ability to conduct research on embryonic stem cells, which scientists say could help develop cures for diseases including Alzheimer's, diabetes and cancer. Opponents object to the practice and liken it to abortion because scientists must destroy the embryo to extract stem cells.
While it's less known for conducting stem cell research than the University of Michigan, stem cell research is being conducted across several departments at Oakland University, Chaudhry said. The university has also developed research projects with Beaumont and Providence hospitals, he said.
Beaumont and Oakland University officials last April announced plans to create a new, privately funded medical school on the OU campus, with the first class enrolling in 2010.
"It makes some sense that we show some leadership in research as well," Chaudhry said. "Somebody has to take a lead and some people think this was needed. We got e-mails from places that said, 'Wow, this was overdue.'"
รข€¢ Contact Sven Gustafson at (248) 374-4932 or sveng@mbusinessreview.com.
Go to the First Midwest Conference on Stem Cell Biology and Therapy Webpage here.
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