SAN FRANCISCO, June 2 /PRNewswire/ -- California’s most well-known proponent of embryonic stem cell research, Robert Klein will speak at the 6th Annual Meeting of the Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies (FOCIS 2006) in San Francisco.
Klein, a real estate developer and Stanford-educated lawyer, was a key organizer and advocate of California’s 2004 initiative to fund embryonic stem cell research, Proposition 71. Klein is now the Chairman of the Independent Citizens Oversight Committee of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine, which was formed following the passage of Proposition 71 and oversees the ground-breaking research. Klein is not a doctor and has no scientific training, but he has his own reasons to be interested in the future of stem cell research. His son lives with Type-1 diabetes and his mother suffers from Alzheimer’s, both conditions that could potentially be treated with stem cell-derived therapies.
Klein’s message is one of determination and progress. He hopes his efforts and those of researchers in California will spark other states to establish similar institutes that rely on state and privately-generated funding, effectively circumventing a Bush-administration ban on federally-funded stem cell research. Klein is optimistic that private donors will take an increased interest in stem cell research, given that more than 70 high-profile diseases can be addressed with stem cell therapies. Foundations for research into these diseases, like Alzheimer’s, diabetes, Parkinson’s disease, and cystic fibrosis, regularly garner large donations and are amply supported by public dollars.
The weight of Klein’s message is likely to hit home with the FOCIS 2006 audience. Delegates to the FOCIS meeting are physicians and researchers whose specialties include a number of the diseases to which stem cell therapeutics is highly relevant. Some delegates study and treat patients with diabetes, organ transplantation and Multiple Sclerosis to name a few areas where stem cell research is likely to have an immense impact. The single force unifying the FOCIS audience is an interest in translational medicine, a key focal point of stem cell research.
Dr. P.J. Utz, associate professor of medicine at Stanford University and chair of the meeting’s Organizing Committee says Klein and the FOCIS delegation are a perfect match.
“It’s amazing when you think about what Mr. Klein has accomplished in California, and what that means for everyone at FOCIS 2006,” Utz says. “You’ve got the best scientists in the world interested in the hottest research going right now. There will be a huge push all over the US when these scientists go home and start talking about California’s head start in stem cell research.”
Klein is scheduled to chair the session titled “Stem Cells” on Sunday, June 4 and give opening remarks. Other speakers appearing in this session are Dr. Irving Weissman, Director of the Stem Cell Institute and Professor of Pathology and Developmental Biology at Stanford University; and Dr. Stuart Orkin, investigator at Children’s Hospital Boston, and Chairman of the Department of Pediatric Oncology at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute.
For more information about FOCIS 2006 and preliminary program scheduling, visit http://www.focisnet.org.
Federation of Clinical Immunology Societies
CONTACT: Gail L. Bast, Executive Director of Federation of ClinicalImmunology Societies, +1-414-918-3192, Fax +1-414-276-3349,gbast@focisnet.org
Web site: http://www.focisnet.org/
