Largest-Ever Gathering of World’s Leading Stem Cell Researchers is Recognized as a Forum for Scientific Advancement, Possibilities and Concerns
Related News: Stem Cell NewsNorthbrook, Ill. — “You are my heroes,” said Robert Klein, addressing the more than 2,100 scientists assembled for the International Society for Stem Cell Research 3 rd Annual Meeting. The meeting was the largest gathering of stem cell researchers yet convened. Participants from 45 countries included well-known stem cell science pioneers and post-doctoral researchers representing the field’s future.
By happy coincidence, the meeting was held in San Francisco just two weeks after the city won the competition to become home of the new California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, the $3 billion stem cell research initiative approved by the state's voters last fall. Klein, chairman of the board of the California Institute, compared San Francisco to the great city-states of history – Florence, Paris and London – which nurtured academia and science when national governments didn’t exist, or weren’t interested.
The three-day meeting featured hundreds of scientific presentations covering the breadth of stem cell biology, discovery, ethics, financing and translation of research from the bench to the clinic. A special public education forum included frank discussion of realistic expectations for the development of treatments and the benefits of using stem cells as models to help decipher how various diseases develop.
Participation in the ISSCR annual meeting has grown by fifty percent each year in attendance, educational program, exhibits, supporters and media coverage, mirroring field’s rapid development and elevated global interest. Founded in 2002, ISSCR has emerged as the primary independent forum for the international stem cell research community and a resource for scientists, governments, patient advocates, businesses and the media. The organization also passed the 2,000-member mark this year.
The ISSCR 2006 annual meeting will take place June 29 – July 1, in Toronto and the 2007 meeting will take place June 17-22 in Cairns, QLD, Australia.
The International Society for Stem Cell Research is an independent, nonprofit membership organization established to promote and foster the exchange and dissemination of information and ideas relating to stem cells, to encourage the general field of research involving stem cells and to promote professional and public education in all areas of stem cell research and application. For more information visit www.isscr.org or contact Heather Gagnon, 847-509-1944 or hgagnon@isscr.org.
Posted on August 15, 2005 03:27 PM