Harvard To Make Best of Stem Cell Decision

A week after President Bush’s controversial decision to limit federal funding for embryonic stem cell research went against Harvard’s wishes, scientists and government relations specialists are trying to make the best of the situation.

In a national television appearance last Thursday, Bush announced that federal funding would be allowed only for work on existing embryonic stem cell lines.

Stem cells are the undifferentiated cells from which all specialized cells such as neurons derive. Scientists say that stem cells taken from early stage embryos hold the most promise for treating problems as diverse as diabetes and spinal cord damage.

According to Jane H. Corlette, acting vice-president for Government, Community and Public Affairs, it is still unclear what the impact of Bush’s decision will be.

Corlette said much will depend on whether the 60 cell lines that Bush said exist are viable.

If all 60 are viable and those under control of private enterprises are made available, one Harvard stem cell researcher said, the Bush plan would be a positive development.

“Given all of the provisos about availability, the decision should make things easier,” Chairman of the Department of Molecular and Cellular Biology Douglas A. Melton said.

The National Institute Health reported that they have documentation for the 60 lines, but that they would not be releasing details at this time.

Harvard had supported federal funding for all embryonic stem cell research—it was a founding member of the Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research, whose goal has been to lobby for stem cell funding.

Melton has been the most outspoken faculty advocate for federal funding. On Tuesday, Melton wrote an editorial in the Wall Street Journal with former Director of the NIH and President of the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Harold Varmus, laying out their vision for how the scientific community should go forward from Bush’s political decision.

Melton and Varmus concluded that even if questions about the cells viability are answered, efforts to ammend Bush’s decision should continue. “If all goes well...will the president’s ruling ultimately need amendment?” Varmus and Melton wrote.

“We think so. Even 100 good lines will likely be inadequate to treat our genetically diverse population without encountering immune rejection,” they wrote.

Harvard’s position was developed out of meetings with the research deans—Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences Jeremy R. Knowles, Dean of the Medical School Joseph P. Martin, and Dean of the School of Public Health Barry R. Bloom—in consultation with other top administrators.

“It was understood to be a politically controversial issue,” Corlette said. “It was agreed that Harvard should regard this as an issue that involves freedom of inquiry.”

At the moment, few researchers at Harvard are involved in embryonic stem cell research despite its promise.

The few that are, including Melton, have had to make do with private funding. Melton said sources of his funding include the Howard Hughes Medical Institute and the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation International.

“The scope of what can be done using private funding is so much smaller than what it would be with federal funding,” Corlette said.

In addition to its position in support of federal funding, Harvard also lobbied Congress on an anti-cloning bill that would have repercussions for stem cell research.

Harvard was one of the only universities to sign a letter urging the House not to ban a procedure known as somatic cell nuclear transfer which scientists say is the ideal method for harvesting stem cell products. The procedure helps ensure that implanted cells are accepted by the recipient’s immune system.

The House prohibition was passed last week on mainly partisan lines. Corlette said that future efforts would be focused on making the most of the federal funding allowed under Bush’s rules, and opposing Senate measures that would ban the somatic cell nuclear transfer procedure.

—Staff writer David H. Gellis can be reached at gellis@fas.harvard.edu.