Jackson Hole, Wyo.-On the heels of the recent lift of the government’s eight year limit on taxpayer-funded research using stem cells, a distinguished neuroscientist and researcher, Zach W. Hall, Ph.D., is slated to address stem cell issues in a talk Thursday at Teton County Library.
Hall spent most of his career conducting research on the nervous system at the University of California, San Francisco, before serving as founding President of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine. He also served as the director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health (NIH).
He retired a few years ago and enjoys a quieter lifestyle in his home in Wilson, Wyo., but he remains an active spokesperson, presenting a balanced voice on stem cell research and is a member of the board of the New York Stem Cell Foundation.
I caught up with him Sunday as he arrived in Washington, D.C. to be a part of a White House event announcing the policy reversal that made good on Obama’s word to lift restrictions on embry
onic stem cell research.
Hall said Obama’s move was something he and others have been waiting and hoping for – for a long time.
“It’s a big moment in stem cell research. Although the cells have been available, the research has not progressed as fast as it could have,” he said. “Now, it will start to move more quickly toward the goal of testing in humans and of ultimately having therapies that will be available to a large segment of the population.”
Embryonic stem cells are the ancestors of all other cells in the body and early research holds promise that they may one day be used to create healthy cells to treat a variety of diseases. However, the idea of using stem cells from human embryos troubles many people on ethical grounds.
Hall offers insight and fair-minded explanations addressing why stem cell use is controversial and why the research is hopeful.
He explained that one of the reasons stem cell research is controversial is that virtually all embryonic stem cell lines have been made from in-vitro fertilization clinics for purposes of reproduction. Those stem cell lines are created from fertilized eggs that are at the 150-cell stage, or four days old. The divided cells don’t have a form, are stored in a freezer, and will not develop into a baby unless they are implanted in the uterus. If they are not used, they are returned to donors who discard them.
“What is the moral value of those cells?” asked Hall. “For some people, they represent potential life and using them to make stem cells represents taking a life. Others believe that the cells should be treated with respect, but rather than discarding them, they can be used to help others.”
The hope is that new cells generated from stem cells can one day be used to replace diseased, damaged or dead cells. “For example, in Parkinson’s disease, specific cells in the brain die. If you can create cells to replace the dead cells, you might be able to restore function,” said Hall. Also, the research could help diabetics by regenerating insulin-secreting cells.
Though these applications are promising, Hall cautions, “We’ve had them [embryonic stem cells] for a short period of time, and we are still learning how they behave and how to make them form the correct kinds of cells like neurons, as used in treating Parkinson’s.”
“Embryonic stem cells were first isolated and identified in 1998, and so we have had only a relatively short period of time to work with them,” he said. It will take many years of diligent research and clinical trials before the cures are proven to be safe and effective. PJH
Hall will share more on what scientists know about stem cells in a free presentation, titled “Stem Cell Research and Disease: Where Science, Culture and Politics Meet” 7 to 8 p.m., Thursday, at the Teton County Library’s Ordway Auditorium. For more information contact 733-2164, ext. 135.
Courtesy photo
Stem cells are the seeds to all other cells in the body.
