Stem Cell Science and Values Education Initiative

This initiative facilitates dialog and informs the public about the current scientific, political, and ethical implications of stem cell research through outreach programs involving educational media, a teaching laboratory, an ongoing seminar series, and conferences.

Faculty Mentors:
Charis Thompson, Gender and Women’s Studies, and Rhetoric
Irina Conboy, Bioengineering

Other Faculty:
David Winickoff, Environmental Science, Policy and Management
Ann Lage, Regional Oral History Office

Public lectures on issues related to Stem Cells and Society
See our event calendar for details

Research and Documentation of the Stem Cell Initiative - Regional Oral History Office
The Bancroft Library's Program in Bioscience and Biotechnology Studies, in collaboration with scholars on the Berkeley campus and other California institutions both public and private, is launching a comprehensive project of education, research, and documentation on all aspects of the stem-cell ballot measure, the scientific research it funds, and the complex political, economic, and ethical contexts of the undertaking. STSC will be a conduit for this project. Start-up funding comes from the Townsend Center for the Humanities.
Over a ten-year period, the project will create in-depth primary resources on how the state effort evolved over time, including the confrontation of complex scientific, public policy, and ethical issues; development of administrative and research infrastructure and oversight; realization of pure research and applied medical research outcomes, and management of intellectual property questions. From the beginning we will make these sources widely accessible so that the public can follow and understand the complexity of the social and political issues and scientific research process and outcomes.

Contact:
Sally Smith Hughes, Academic Specialist, History of Science
Regional Oral History Office
Email: shughes@library.berkeley.edu

Stem Cell Education Outreach Program
Led by the Berkeley chapter of the Student Society for Stem Cell Research (SSSCR), and the Science, Technology, Ethics and Law (STELA) working group, in collaboration with Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute (CHORI), the Greenlining Institute, and UC Berkeley’s Stem Cell Research Oversight (SCRO) Committee.

The Stem Cell Education Outreach Program group, led by Laurel Barchas gives lectures to local middle- and high- school biology classes on the science and ethics of stem cell research. Visit their website http://www.ocf.berkeley.edu/~sceop. The outreach program is in the process of filming and animating a 5-minute short film describing key aspects of stem cell biology.

The Student Society for Stem Cell Research held Stem Cell Café Scientifique in April 2007 and plans to make this event a yearly tradition.