Stem cell decision jolts Mich. research

Colleges eager to expand searches for disease cures

Tanveer Ali / The Detroit News

ANN ARBOR -- For advocates of embryonic stem cell research in Michigan, everything seemed to fall in line Monday.

Research proponents say President Obama's executive order Monday reversing eight years of limits on federal funding and the approval last November by voters to ease restrictions on such work will bring in more funding and advance the work on cures of numerous diseases.

"This is exactly the kind of activity that will make the (state) competitive in the future," said Sean Morrison, director of the Center for Stem Cell Biology. "The people of Michigan should understand by virtue of voting for Proposal 2, this puts us in position to benefit from this funding."

U-M researchers unveiled plans for embryonic research Monday, through the creation of a new consortium set to begin in the coming months. Nearly $2 million has been committed to the group with more likely on the way, most notably from the $10 billion dedicated to the National Institutes of Health in the recent $787 billion stimulus package. How that money would be distributed is unclear, though stem cell researchers hope it will filter down to Ann Arbor.

Last month, Wayne County officials unveiled plans for a stem cell commercialization lab at Wayne State University's TechTown. Randal Charlton, executive director of the facility, said although few jobs will be available for locals with the creation of a new center, its value lies in its ability to attract overseas companies who want to do research in the United States.

"A part of what universities in Michigan are increasingly trying to do is taking research from an academic lab and to commercialize them as quickly as possible, putting them into the world of practical medical sciences," Charlton said. "It's about diversifying the economy, creating new high tech jobs in areas of science which are recognized as being extremely important."

The lab, a 2,500-square-foot research facility, is expected to open within six months and has already lined up five biotech start-up companies. Preliminary discussions have already begun with stem cell research teams in the United Kingdom, Israel, Sweden and Hungary.

A. Alfred Taubman, the Bloomfield Hills mall magnate who put up $5 million toward the passage of the November proposal, said the easing of regulations puts the state on a level playing field with others. Last fall, Taubman donated $22 million to the U-M institute that bears his name and will oversee the embryonic research.

"We're making great strides. We're being able to retain our scientists, which was one of our major factors behind the proposal," Taubman said. "They were working with one arm."

While U-M researchers don't expect to be curing diseases within a few years, they did say recent developments made major breakthroughs possible within 10-20 years. Scientists will initially target such conditions as Lou Gehrig's disease, Huntington's, Alzheimer's and diabetes.

Researchers say they will use cells that haven't been tabbed for fertility treatments and would be otherwise discarded.

However, Paul Long, vice president of public policy for the Michigan Catholic Conference, said Obama's decision allows for an inappropriate use of public money and that there are valid ways to conduct research without using embryos.

"We don't believe that killing human life for medical research, practices that are not proven to be good science at all," Long said.

Staff Writer Darren Nichols contributed to this report.