Links to the Plan & Order below Press Release link
For Immediate Release
Tuesday, September 18, 2007
OD Office of Communications
and Public Liaison
301-496-5787
NIH Announces Plan to Implement President's Stem Cell Executive Order
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced today that it will
begin implementing President Bush's Executive Order to explore
methods to expand the number of approved pluripotent stem cell
lines "without creating a human embryo for research purposes or
destroying, discarding, or subjecting to harm a human embryo or
fetus." The Executive Order calls on Health and Human Services (HHS)
Secretary Michael Leavitt, who in turn is directing NIH, to conduct
and support research that takes advantage of emerging potential
alternative methods for generating stem cells that are pluripotent,
i.e., capable of producing all or almost all of the cell types in the
developing body.
"The NIH has developed a sound, ambitious strategy to advance
pluripotent stem cell research and generate more opportunities in
this critical area," Secretary Leavitt said. "I sincerely hope that
these steps will accelerate the discovery of new cures and
treatments."
Stem cells have been recognized for years as a tool for advancing
knowledge about cell specialization and its great potential to be
medically valuable. At the most basic level, stem cells will also
help us understand the most fundamental processes in human biology
and teach us how cells program and re-program themselves. Recently,
technical innovation in stem cell derivation and proliferation
suggests that there may be new avenues for scientific progress.
"NIH has been pursuing the potential of stem cells on all fronts,
whether they are human embryonic, adult, or cord blood — since they
were discovered. It is one of the central scientific challenges of
our time," said Elias A. Zerhouni, M.D., NIH Director. "NIH will
continue to consult widely with the scientific community to determine
the best approaches."
"The Executive Order recognizes the recent developments in adult
mouse cells that can be reprogrammed to behave like embryonic stem
cells, and we've laid out a strategy to explore their possible
applications to human cells," said Story Landis, Ph.D., Director of
the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke. She also
serves as the chair of the NIH Stem Cell Task Force.
The NIH plan includes a number of new or accelerated activities. For
example, the NIH Stem Cell Task Force will develop several funding
opportunity announcements, including a Program Announcement (PA). The
PA will ask for grant applications proposing research on human
pluripotent stem cells derived from non-embryonic sources, such as
somatic cells or cells found in amniotic fluid. In addition, the Stem
Cell Task Force will create two supplement programs that will
stimulate research in specific areas rapidly. They would be awarded
to researchers already working in stem cell research to augment
certain areas of their work that are of particular interest to NIH.
All research proposals will be subject to the standard peer review
process.
The plan also calls for aggressively pursuing an assessment of the
potential of alternative sources of pluripotent stem cell lines,
including altered nuclear transfer; single cell embryo biopsy, and
reprogramming, or dedifferentiation of somatic cells, such as skin
cells. While these methods have been proposed, questions remain as to
their feasibility. To address this issue, the NIH will undertake a
comprehensive research portfolio review to determine what research
NIH is currently supporting in this area and convene a state-of-the-
science workshop to identify the key questions. Some of the
alternative methods may raise questions under applicable law. In such
cases, NIH must carefully consider whether it may fund such research.
NIH will also hold a symposium that will explore what avenues of stem
cell research eligible for funding under federal law and policy offer
the greatest potential for clinical benefit.
Under the plan, NIH will rename its Human Embryonic Stem Cell
Registry as the "Human Pluripotent Stem Cell Registry" and will
consider the addition of new human pluripotent stem cell lines to the
registry that are deemed eligible.
The implementation plan for Executive Order #13435 is available on
the NIH website at http://stemcells.
The Office of the Director, the central office at NIH, is responsible
for setting policy for NIH, which includes 27 Institutes and Centers.
This involves planning, managing, and coordinating the programs and
activities of all NIH components. The Office of the Director also
includes program offices which are responsible for stimulating
specific areas of research throughout NIH. Additional information is
available at http://www.nih.
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) — The Nation's Medical
Research Agency — includes 27 Institutes and Centers and is a
component of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. It is
the primary federal agency for conducting and supporting basic,
clinical and translational medical research, and it investigates the
causes, treatments, and cures for both common and rare diseases. For
more information about NIH and its programs, visit www.nih.gov.
http://www.nih.
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The Plan: http://stemcells.
The Order:
http://a257.
po.gov/2007/
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StemCells subscribers may also be interested in these sites:
Children's Neurobiological Solutions
http://www.CNSfoundation.org/
Cord Blood Registry
http://www.CordBlood.com/at.cgi?a=150123
The CNS Healing Group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CNS_Healing
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