Just so you know the first round of funding gave $ 300,000 for hESCR to a researcher by the name of Ivor Lemishka.

The second round of funding gave $300,000 for hESCR to Rick Cohen.

I finally figured it all out here:
http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/10/16/175354/86

My recent comments are awaiting moderation because they contain links, so I will add this.

The state of New Jersey has awarded approximately $6.4 million to human embryonic stem cell research.

The grants from FY 2006 totaled $5.1 million total, with $1.2 million going to embryonic stem cell research; $900,000 of which went to human embryonic stem cell research.

John Corzine’s June announcement of $10 million in grants did award only two human embryonic stem cell grants, but they totaled $5.5 million.

Taken together, $6.4 million out of almost $15.1 million is dedicated to human embryonic stem cell research. That is a far cry from the 9:1 ratio favoring non-embryonic stem cell research that you claim here.

Steven

In this piece, you say that only two embryonic stem cell projects were funded by New Jersey.

However, last month you wrote that New Jersey funded five embryonic stem cell projects:

http://stemblog.net/?p=133

In June, you wrote on Daily Kos that New Jersey funded four embryonic stem cell projects:

http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2007/6/25/85448/3793

Which of these statements is true? Did New Jersey fund 2, 4, or 5 embryonic stem cell projects?

You told Don that you trust voters to make the “right decision based on proper information,” but how can they when your message has been inconsistent? Which of your messages can they trust?

Steven

http://stemcells.nih.gov/research/training/

It sure seems they could have qualified for an NIH grant sometime since 2002, when they first stated their intended commitment to hESCR.

Let me try to approach this another way. I know you won’t believe anything I say, so this is aimed more at any objective readers.

The NIH awarded 510 embryonic stem cell grants this year. Only 4 of those were awarded to researchers based in New Jersey.

What does this tell us? Not many researchers in New Jersey are currently trained to use embryonic stem cells for research. They may not know how to properly culture and grow them, or any other number of things.

One of the grants awarded by the New Jersey Stem Cell Institute was to create a course to train researchers how to use embryonic stem cells. Researchers will be trained over he course of the year, enabling them to submit embryonic stem cell-based grant applications next year.

These newly trained researchers will also be able to submit more competetive grant applications to the NIH and other funding sources, bringing additional money into the state that would not be there otherwise.

Embryonic stem cells will play a vital role in the bond referendum, but only if it passes and the researchers can be trained. If the future of funding in New Jersey is not guaranteed because the referendum fails, researchers will move to other states to be trained and have their research funded.

Passage of the referendum is essential to guarantee the future embryonic stem cell research in New Jersey. Without it, your battle will be much more difficult.

I believe these are the critical points in favor of the referendum. Your claims and fears are not based in fact, so I hope you will go out and vote YES on Nov. 6th.

Steven

The method I proposed that you attacked creates embryonic stem cells, not replacements for them. Instead of extracting them from blastocysts, they can be created as needed.

If you were truly interested in moving the science forward, you would realize that by now. Trying the same thing over and over, despite repeated failures, is not helpful.

Thankfully, this is a New Jersey issue and not a federal one, so Bush is not involved. Unfortunately, the advocates working to move the science forward are being attacked from people within their own ranks.

Opposing this bond measure is the same as opposing embryonic stem cell research. If you continue to oppose it, don’t forget that you are working on the same side as President Bush the next time you get frustrated by his embryonic stem cell policy.

Steven

If you want to let readers know where I stand, why not start with the truth?

I was a major proponent of hESC/SCNT when Bush placed his restrictions in August 2001. I went along with everyone else under the assumption that Congress would quicky restore Clinton’s hESC rules and we, the advocates, could continue pushing for NIH funding.

Well, I was wrong. I never realized how difficult protracted this debate would be, or I would have pushed ahead with my initial thought.

Bone marrow cells had been shown to have the ability to transform into neural cells at the time, so I publicly asked why can’t we just focus on that to get the neural cells we need to cure spinal cord injury? That was a day or two after Bush’s announcement, but I caved to the “common wisdom”.

By the end of 2003, I realized I had wasted two years on a futile effort. While lying in bed one night, it hit me: if a cell’s abilities are granted by its expressed genes, why can’t a skin cell be reprogrammed to function as a hESC?

Kerry won the Democratic slot in 2004, so I knew we were in for four more years of Bush and four more years of his restrictions unless advocates changed their tactics. I called a Catholic Bioethicist to see if my reprogramming/dedifferentiation idea would be objected to and was informed that it wouldn’t be.

“Gold!” I thought. This is the perfect way forward.

Sadly, two advocates by the names of Bob K and Faye Armitage branded me a traitor and interrupted every thread I started when trying to persuade advocates to switch their methods. Every word I wrote was twisted by those two to say I was in league with the Catholic Church to undermine hESC research.

They worked together to undermine my credibility in the eyes of some other advocates, and were successful to some extent. In fact, I still feel the strain and hear the doubt in some of those advocates’ voices when I speak to them today.

Driven to the brink of insanity by the constant attacks, I opened a blog where I could express my thoughts and hopefully win converts without fear of persecution. The contents of said blog remain online at:

http://spinalconfusion.blogspot.com/

Thankfully, one researcher from the University of Kyoto had the same idea I did. He showed that he could transform mouse skin cells into mouse embryonic stem cells without creating, harming, or destroying an embryo.

This technique was translated to human cells this year, and the Gladstone Institute in California recently hired this awesome researcher — one Shinya Yamanaka — to perfect his technique. The technique will allow for the unlimited creation of hESCs, delivering on the promise of SCNT without any of the ethical controversies.

I feel vindicated by Yamanaka’s work, but frustrated by the amount of time it took to arrive. If we had pushed for it back in 2003, the work could have happened sooner and been done in America. Perhaps even in Florida or New Jersey.

So, my background is out there. Would you like to share yours?

It starts with the fact that your vendetta has nothing to do with the NJ Stem Cell Institute. If Rutgers University had a wheelchair basketball program for your son, you would be a strong proponent of the NJ Stem Cell Institute.

I have often hoped that your son would look you in the eye and say “Dad, get over it! I am happy, and you’re hurting the research that may one day help me.”

Based on your posts and actions, I fear that day has not yet arrived.

Steven

Many scientists interested in hESCs had already relocated to other states by the time the NJ Stem Cell Institute was created.

The NJ Stem Cell Institute will be training researchers in the state to do hESC research because there is an interest by NJ researchers to study hESCs. When they are trained, they will submit hESC grant applications and be funded.

The awarded grants were vetted by out-of-state researchers, including at least one involved in the California program. If you are frustrated by the lack of hESC grants and think somebody is to blame, blame them.

Don is correct. I wish you had taken your own advice and found out the number of grants submitted before writing this.

Steven

If you are interested to find out the real # of applicants, you can do an open records request:
http://www.state.nj.us/opra/

The gist of the article is for truthfulness in the distinction between funding that is going to ASCR and that which is going to hESCR.

There is no denying that voters tend to think that a substantial amount of funding will be going to hESCR in NJ, when that in fact is questionable, given the poor showing of funding for hESCR in NJ during the past two rounds of funding.

I trust voters to make the right decision based on proper information. If they know that they are voting to fund a program with evidently a primary focus on ASCR, then so much the better.

It still leaves hESCR advocates the task to publicly ensure that hESCR gets a better share in a state such as NJ.

Don, why are embryonic stem cell researchers not at all interested in NJ should be your comment!!!!!

What is NJ or Dr. Young the head researcher there doing to keep embryonic stem cell researchers away?

The writer is encouraging a NO vote on New Jersey’s Stem Cell Research Bond Act. This would result in a loss of half a billion dollars in stem cell research, and hand a major victory to opponents of research.

The article points out that the state has funded more adult stem cell research than embryonic. This is true. What the article does not mention, however, is that New Jersey did fund almost every one of the embryonic stem cell research projects which were proposed.

If my understanding is correct, the funding review board received a total of 96 stem cell projects—of which 90 were for adult stem cells—and only 6 were for embryonic.

The fact that there were not more requests for embryonic stem cell research funding is no reflection on New Jersey’s commitment to the science. For a variety of reasons, it did simply did not have enough trained scientists asking for funding for the lifesaving research.

The New Jersey Stem Cell Research Bond Act is open to all forms of ethical research. That is how it must be, if the best science is to prevail. Even the great state of California will soon fund adult stem cell research with the bond sales of Proposition 71.

I tend to agree with the author that embryonic stem cell research is the best way toward success. But only scientists can find out for sure—and only if they have funding.

It would be a tragic mistake to throw half a billion dollars in stem cell research funding.

On November 6th, New Jersey citizens should vote YES on the New Jersey Stem Cell Research Bond Act.

Don C. Reed
http://www.stemcellbattles.com

The NJ stem cell program was never solely about ESCR, as the language of the bill showed. Anyone who thinks otherwise simply cannot read.

Rob Katz