|
Doctor: Stem-Cell Center Won't be an Ivory Tower
Courier-Post
16 March 2005
By SHARON WATERS
Gannett New Jersey
The planned Stem Cell Institute of New Jersey will represent the hopes of the public, Rutgers University neuroscientist Dr. Wise Young said.
As plans are made and finalized for the facility to be built in New Brunswick, Young, who is involved in the plans, wants people to be part of the institute.
"It would be wonderful to have a lab designed that people feel it's their own,' Young said. "We don't consider ourselves an ivory tower, isolated, and we're going to do our research behind closed doors.'
The facility will have state-of-the-art equipment and technology for cell culturing, animal studies and clinical work on humans, Young said.
The total cost for the institute has been estimated to be between $70 million and $80 million. Rutgers and the University of Medicine and Dentistry of New Jersey will jointly operate it.
An exact location in New Brunswick has not been announced yet.
Hot topic
Stem cells, which can be harvested from embryos, fetuses, umbilical-cord blood or adults' bone marrow, can grow into different types of cells. They might treat spinal-cord injuries, cancer, heart disease, Parkinson's disease, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease and diabetes. They also have the potential to address birth defects, scientists say.
Because some stem cells result from the destruction of embryos at fertility and abortion clinics, the research has come under fire from the Roman Catholic Church and pro-life advocates, including President Bush.
Plans for the stem-cell institute call for 150,000 square feet of space and 12 labs, each headed by a principal investigator who specializes in an area of the research, Young said.
Recent actions by New Brunswick government hint that the institute will likely be built on the site of the Robert Wood Johnson University Hospital's Cardiovascular Institute, which is proposed for a tract of land between French and Little Albany streets.
Kelley Heck, a spokeswoman for Acting Gov. Richard J. Codey, said a number of New Brunswick sites are being considered and the final decision would be announced in the "near future.'
Reach Sharon Waters at (732) 565-7270 or swatersthnt.com
|
