Keith Yamamoto
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist today announced his support for a House-passed bill to expand federal financing for stem cell research, a measure the White House is threatening to veto.
Keith Yamamoto, PhD, executive vice dean for the UCSF School of Medicine, sees Frist's action as an encouraging step:
"We are very encouraged that Sen. Frist has declared his support for expanded federal financing for
human embryonic stem cell research. His position recognizes the enormous potential behind this exciting area of research, which can only be realized if we provide support to fundamental investigations that will reveal precisely how these cells grow and how they then differentiate into distinct cell types.
The UCSF Program in Developmental and Stem Cell Biology is carrying out a broad range of studies related to diabetes, Parkinson's disease, heart disease, muscle diseases and craniofacial deformities, with the goal of eventually developing clinical therapies. We are extremely enthusiastic about this work, and we consider it essential to obtain new resources to support the training of young scientists and the construction of expanded stem cell research laboratories. In this context, it is very important to change the federal policy that restricts the development and analysis of new stem cell lines. This is critical for advancing toward the treatment of diseases."
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UCSF and Stem Cells
