Stem Cells Talk, Thursday March 12

STEM CELL RESEARCH and DISEASE:
WHERE SCIENCE, CULTURE and
POLITICS MEET

MARCH 12, 2007
7-8 PM
Co-sponsored by the Teton Science School and
Teton County Library
Location: Library's Ordway Auditorium.
Contact: Adult Humanities Coordinator,
733-2164 ext. 135
Free and open to the public

Zach W. Hall, Ph.D.

Why have human embryonic stem cells excited the imagination of scientists and raised the hopes of those with chronic disease or injury? Research on stem cells has proved to be ethically controversial as well as a potent political issue.

This talk will address a number of stem cell research issues:
What are stem cells and why are they important?
Why is their use controversial?
Do new scientific developments make the use of embryonic stem cells obsolete?
Will we continue to need state programs if the federal policy changes?
Most importantly, how can stem cells be used for new therapies and how soon can we expect them to be developed?


Dr. Zach W. Hall is currently a member of the Board of the New York Stem Cell Foundation and was the founding President of the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, the state agency established to fund stem cell research in California. Previously, he was the director of the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). Most of his career was spent in research on the nervous system at the University of California, San Francisco. He is now retired and lives with his wife, Julie Giacobassi, in Wilson, Wyoming.