The Hard Cell

Few people had more interest in President Bush's recent decision on stem-cell research than James Thomson, whom Time magazine recently called "the man who brought you stem cells." The UW developmental biologist, who graces the cover of Time's August 20 issue, in 1998 became the first person to cultivate stem cells from a human embryo, igniting a maelstrom of scientific curiosity and public debate over the morality of using embryos for research. But don't expect Thomson to enjoy his role as media darling. Serious and intensely media-shy, he doesn't even own a television (he watched Bush's announcement at a neighbor's house). And what did the face of stem-cell research do the day after Bush's dramatic address? He tells Time that he went hang gliding, "to clear my head before
facing the media storm."

The storm is just beginning. Bush's decision to allow federal funding only for research on the sixty-four existing colonies of embryonic stem cells has touched off a battle over how stem-cell work will proceed - and who will control it. Scientists suspect that not all of the lines Bush identified are viable options for research, and the competition to work with the lines that are promising will be fierce.

The UW, through the Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation (WARF), holds patents on the five lines of cells developed by Thomson, as well as the techniques Thomson used to grow the cells, making it a major player. Carl Gulbrandsen PhD'78, JD'81, WARF's managing director, says that the foundation has been distributing cells to a number of academic and private researchers, and the patents help ensure that no private corporation dominates potential stem-cell therapies.

WARF is currently at odds with Geron Corporation, which partially funded Thomson's work and holds licensing rights on some types of tissue that might be developed from Thomson's cells. Geron is seeking to add more tissue types to the licensing agreement, but Gulbrandsen says WARF is opposed, believing that such a move would preclude potentially valuable work by other researchers in the pharmaceutical, medical, and scientific communities.

"We hope that federal funding and appropriate access to stem cells will increase the number of researchers who work with human embryonic stem cells," Gulbrandsen says. "A greater number of good researchers promise to bring the medicine of tomorrow closer to today.

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