Texans for Advancement of Medical Research

April 13, 2009
TO MEMBERS OF THE 81st TEXAS LEGISLATURE:

As members of the Texas scientific community, we, the undersigned, want to ensure that all stem cell research–including human embryonic stem cell research–is allowed to progress in this state, using ethical guidelines that are consistent with federal standards.

On March 23, the Senate Committee on Finance passed a rider on Senate Bill 1 written by State Senator Steve Ogden of Bryan that prohibits the use of state funds in conjunction with or to support research that involves the destruction of a human embryo.
We believe such an amendment would be detrimental to Texas:

• A ban on state funding for an area of biomedical research would halt ongoing research projects and negatively impact the ability of the Texas academic health institutions, both public and private, to competitively recruit and retain world-class scientists, professors, and medical students in the biological sciences. A ban would also influence other areas of medicine, including obstetrics, fertility studies and treatment.
• Research on embryonic stem cells helps in the development and understanding of adult stem cell therapies, cell creation, function and development.
• Legislation that restricts biomedical research sends the message to industry that Texas is unfriendly towards the biomedical industry and new business – impacting the state economic growth and development.
• A ban can potentially affect Texas’ institutions’ research activities including federal grant funding. Early-stage biomedical research is generally funded by the government and performed in public academic health institutions. Research currently being conducted with federal funding on approved embryonic stem cell lines in state facilities or utilizing researchers paid on state salaries will no longer be allowed. Researchers will face a choice of leaving state institutions or stopping their research.
• Private funding is almost never available for early-stage biomedical research so a ban such as this would effectively stifle this research in Texas.

Research on life threatening diseases like cancer, Parkinson’s, and diabetes depend largely on the biological understanding of how cells function and where malignancies or mutations occur, and why. A ban would deny access to treatment for millions of Texans suffering from debilitating diseases and conditions, eliminating early-stage trials and treatments.
We urge you to remove the ban on funding for embryonic stem cell research in Texas from SB1, and to watch diligently for other bills, riders or amendments that would prohibit or penalize any ethical form of stem cell research or the funding for it.
Neal Lane, Ph.D.
Former Science Advisor
to President Clinton

Ferid Murad, M.D., Ph.D.
Nobel Laureate Medicine

Alfred G. Gilman. M.D., Ph.D.
Nobel Laureate, Medicine
Dallas, Texas

Robert F. Curl, Jr.
Nobel Prize Chemistry 1996

William R. Brinkley, Ph.D.
Member of the Institute of Medicine

Bettie Sue Masters, Ph.D., D.Sc., M.D.
The Robert A. Welch Distinguished Professor in Chemistry
The University of Texas Health Science Center at San Antonio
Member of the Institute of Medicine of the National Academy of Sciences –
Former President of the American Society for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology

Malcolm K. Brenner, M.B., Ph.D., FRCP
Center for Cell & Gene Therapy
Houston, Texas

Zhou Songyang, Ph.D.
Professor
Houston, Texas

Thomas Zwaka, Ph.D.
Cell and Gene Therapy
Houston, Texas

Rick A. Wetsel, Ph.D.,
Professor of molecular medicine
Houston, Texas

Rebecca M. Hall, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Molecular and Cellular Biology
Houston, Texas

Ping Wu, M.D. Ph.D.
Stem Cell Scientist

Margaret A. Goodell, Ph.D.
Stem cell scientist
Houston, Texas

Helen H. Hobbs, M.D.
Houston, Texas
Richard E. Champlin, M.D.
Chair, Department of Stem Cell Transplantation
The University of Texas
M. D. Anderson Cancer Center

Ralph Dittman, M.D., M.P.H.
President
The Alliance for Medical Research

Scott Wenderfer, M.D., Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Div. Pediatric Nephrology & Hypertension
UT Houston Medical School
Research Center for Immunology and Autoimmune Diseases
The Brown Foundation Institute
of Molecular Medicine

Xin-Hua Feng, Ph.D.
Professor
Houston, Texas

Jonathan Uhr, M.D.
Professor of Microbiology and Medicine
Immunobiology Cancer Center
University of Texas Southwestern

David W. Russell, Ph.D.
McDermott Distinguished Professor
Department of Molecular Genetics
UT Southwestern Medical Center
Member, US National Academy of Sciences

Irma Gigli, Ph.D.
Professor Emeritus, UC San Diego
Physician-Scientist
Houston, Texas

Yi Li, Ph.D.
Stem Cell Scientist
Houston, Texas

Karen K. Hirschi, Ph.D.
Professor
Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine
Houston, Texas

Dan Dimitrijevich, Ph.D.
Director, Human Cell and Tissue Engineering Laboratories Research Associate Professor, Department of Integrative Physiology
University of North Texas Health Science Center

Peter Hornsby, Ph.D.
Department of Physiology and
Barshop Institute for Longevity
and Aging Studies

Ellen Kraig, Ph.D.
Distinguished Teaching Professor
Cellular and Structural Biology

Helen E. Heslop, M.D.
Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics
Cell and Gene Therapy
Houston, Texas

Michael T. Lewis
Assistant Professor
Molecular and Cellular Biology
Houston, Texas

Huda Y. Zoghbi, M.D.
Member of the National Academy of Sciences
and the Institute of Medicine
Houston, Texas

Bert W. O’Malley, M.D.
Professor and Chair
Molecular and Cell Biology
Houston, Texas

Hoang Nguyen, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor
Molecular and Cellular Biology
Houston, Texas

Dr. Ellen Vitetta
Director, Cancer Immunobiology Center
UT Southwestern Medical Center,
Dallas, Texas

Larry Denner, Ph.D.
Stem Cell Scientist
University of Texas Medical Branch

Arthur L. Beaudet, M.D.
Medical Geneticist
Member Institute of Medicine

Randall Dunn, M.D.
Assistant Clinical Professor
Fertility Specialist
Houston, Texas

Keith A. Wharton, Jr., M.D., Ph.D.
Associate Dean for Undergraduate
Medical Education, Basic Science
Departments of Pathology and Molecular Biology
UT Southwestern Medical Center

Kaylen Silverberg, M.D.
Medical Director
Texas Fertility Center
Austin, Texas

Salih J. Wakil, Ph.D.
Distinguished Service Professor
Biochemistry & Molecular Biology 
Houston, Texas

William E. Gibbons, MD
President-Elect, American Society for Reproductive Medicine
Past-President, Society for Assisted Reproductive Technology

Austin J. Cooney, Ph.D.
Associate Professor
Molecular and Cellular Biology

John David Schindler, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor of
Cancer Immunobiology
Gretchen Darlington
Scientist in the field of Aging
Houston, Texas

Cecilia T. Valdes, M.D.
Assistant Professor
Obstetrics and Gynecology

Vivienne Rebel, M.D., Ph.D.
Stem Cell Scientist dealing with cancer

Christopher Navara, Ph.D.
Stem Cell Scientist

Filed under: STEM CELL NEWS