While little is known about how or when stem cell policy will change, researchers at the University are ready and waiting for federal support that some say could be immediately helpful for curing diseases.

“If government policy changed, it’s extremely likely that new projects would be started at Wash. U.,” stem cell biologist and Professor of Anatomy and Neurobiology David Gottlieb said.

Obama has pledged to reverse President Bush’s restrictive policies on stem cell research, although few details have been publicly discussed.

“The President-elect is still fully committed to stem cell research. Whether it’s by executive order or legislation is still being decided, but the important thing is that he will fight to get it done,” Federico de Jesús, a transition press official, said.

Under the Bush administration, use of human embryonic stem (ES) cells is not illegal but receives limited federal funding. To work around these limitations, University scientists use alternative sources of stem cells, such as mouse embryonic stem cells, but their utility is limited when it comes to translating basic research into therapy.

Easier access to human ES cells would be advantageous because understanding human functions and diseases ultimately requires studying human cells, according to Gottlieb.

“To the medical scientists, it means that you’ll be able to have for the first time an array of human models of human disease, whereas prior to this most of the research had to be done in very inappropriate human cells, or rat or mouse cells,” Gottlieb said. “Another thing is that in biology, a lot of the mechanisms are conserved in evolution, like from mice to humans, but there’s a point where that’s no longer accurate.”

In other words, while human cells and mouse cells share enough in common that mouse cells are useful for gaining a basic understanding of cellular processes, the finer details may differ. And when it comes to designing treatments for human patients, fine details can make a crucial difference.

“If you really want to nail how the human heart works, you need to use human cells,” Gottlieb said.

Fifth-year biomedical engineering graduate student Cara Rieger said her work using mouse embryonic stem cells is an example of research in which a transition to human ES cells could be rewarding.

“Our lab specializes in taking ES cells and directing them down a neural differentiation pathway—making neurons in a dish,” she said. “One long-term goal is to engineer ES-derived neural cells so they can be used in transplantation, cellular replacement therapy for neural injury or neurodegenerative disease.”

“I think the same techniques we are developing using the mouse system will become more widely used in human ES cells,” Rieger said.

Because of the technical complexity of switching to a different model system, not every stem-cell lab would immediately start using human ES cells if government funding swelled. Gottlieb said that many people could benefit from the work of a few, however.

“Even if we decided to use mouse [stem cells] only [in my lab], we would be impacted because science grows together as a community,” he said. “The contribution of each lab is affected by all the other labs. It would have an immense impact.”

Washington University research as a whole could be pushed to greater prominence if more labs were able to use human ES cells, he said, because the University lags behind similar institutions in the amount of human stem cell research currently being conducted.

Undergraduate Julia Keighley, a junior who works alongside mouse stem cell researchers in the lab of Associate Professor of Developmental Biology Kristin Kroll, said her lab is waiting to see how government policy changes.

“I know it’s something they worry about. One of the guys I talk to a lot has been doing some work with a dismantled version of the HIV virus,” Keighley said. “Everything they’re doing needs to be done. So whatever the administration can do to help is welcome.”

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The Bush administration has consistently opposed legislation that would end funding restrictions on stem cell research. With the upcoming presidential election, many voters are wondering, “Would John McCain continue the scientific policies of President George W. Bush?”

The answer is still up for debate. Acting as the “maverick” that many have referred to him as, Senator John McCain rejected many of President Bush’s positions regarding stem cell research. McCain voted in favor of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 (H.R.810), the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 (S.5) and the Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act (S.2754), all of which would have increased stem cell research and were also supported by Senator Barack Obama. With his selection as the Republican presidential nominee, McCain has toned down his moderate stance on the issue in order to appeal to the Republicans’ vital base, Christian conservatives.

“While I support federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, I believe clear lines should be drawn that reflect a refusal to sacrifice moral values and ethical principles for the sake of scientific progress,” Senator John McCain says.

Although he has not entirely flip-flopped on the issue, his campaign website—www.johnmccain.com—focuses primarily on his more conservative initiatives concerning ethics and science and doesn’t mention his voting record in favor of stem cell research. It states that McCain opposes the creation of human embryos for the specific use of research, using the cells or fetal tissue of embryos formed in such a manner, human cloning and the use or collection of human cells developed in animals. Each of these claims is backed by McCain’s voting record in the Senate.

“As president, John McCain will strongly support funding for promising research programs, including amniotic fluid and adult stem cell research and other types of scientific study that do not involve the use of human embryos,” his site says.

Is this just a clever campaign tactic or a genuine shift in ideals?

Barack Obama

According to the National Journal, Senator Barack Obama has been labeled “the most liberal senator in 2007,” a title determined by ninety-nine vital Senate votes. It probably comes as no surprise, therefore, that Obama agrees with the great majority of Democrats on the stem cell research debate.

In step with many of his other policies that oppose the principles of the Bush administration, Senator Obama has rejected President Bush’s suppression of research in the field of embryonic stem cell research. His campaign website—www.barackobama.com—emphasizes Obama’s support for increased stem cell research. Nevertheless, Obama and McCain agree that ethical standards regarding such research must be clearly outlined.

His voting record also supports these assertions. Although Bush later vetoed the bill, Senator Barack Obama supported the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2005 (H.R.810), which would have permitted the use of federal funds for embryonic stem cell research. The funds, however, would have only been used for those human embryos scheduled to be destroyed. Obama also voted in favor of the Stem Cell Research Enhancement Act of 2007 (S.5), an act similar to the one of 2005. In addition, he voted in favor of the Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act (S.2754), an act that would have increased federal funding for research on adult stem cells. While a senator in the Illinois state Senate, Obama even introduced acts to allow for embryonic stem cell research.

Are his positions on embryonic stem cell research too liberal, or are they right in step with the positions of the majority of Americans?