The university’s Regenerative Bioscience Center and its Biomedical and Health Sciences Institute are bringing stem cell research and its legal, political and personal ramifications into the spotlight.
The RBC will explore stem cell issues at 10:15 a.m. Oct. 17 at Masters Hall in the Georgia Center for Continuing Education. The talk will feature Sherry Knowles, Rep. Thomas E. Price (R-Ga.) and Hamilton Jordan.
“It’s not just the science that will speed or hamper progress toward new clinical uses of stem cells,” says Steven Stice, professor and Georgia Research Alliance eminent scholar. “We hope to address some of these issues during our symposium.”
On the legal side, Knowles will speak about intellectual properties issues in stem cell research. She’s a partner at King and Spalding law firm and a frequent speaker and author on protecting biotechnology patent portfolios.
As Georgia’s 6th District congressman, Price has made it a priority to strengthen health care and education. A medical doctor, he is active in congressional issues surrounding stem cell research.
Jordan is a three-time cancer survivor and was White House chief of staff to former President Jimmy Carter. He is the author of No Such Thing as a Bad Day. Jordan will bring a personal perspective when he speaks on the value of medical research and its hand in saving lives in the future.
The symposium will end with a 30-minute question-and-answer session. The symposium will be held in conjunction with UGA’s Human Embryonic Stem Cell Toolbox workshop. This five-day clinic is sponsored by the National Institutes of Health.
Other sponsors for the RBC symposium include the UGA Office of the Vice President for Research, Georgia Research Alliance, Georgia Tech/Emory Center for the Engineering of Living Tissues, Bresagen Inc., Applied Biosystems and Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene.
