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OPINIONS

Editorial: In support of the University’s pioneering stem cell research

Editorial Board

By: Editorial Board

As reported in The Daily, this past October saw the grand opening of the Lorry I. Lokey Stem Cell Research Building. The most recent addition to the University’s School of Medicine, this $225 million, 200,000-square-foot project, now the largest stem cell center in the nation, was received with fitting aplomb. In its construction, the University further demonstrated its commitment to staying on the avant-garde of pioneering technology. The University’s work is not going unnoticed, and rightfully so. Reported yesterday, the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine awarded $2.3 million to geneticist Michele Carlos for her work on Duchenne muscular dystrophy (DMD).

The motto of Stanford University is “Die Luft der Freiheit weht”–the wind of freedom blows. At the school’s founding, the Stanford family dedicated the University to the education and improvement of California’s sons and daughters. With its bold support of stem cell research, the University is embodying both the motto and the ideals instilled by the Stanfords.

When much of the country lets the stain of partisan fervor shrouded in religious dogmatism consume, and thus hinder, the actual science of stem cells, Stanford has chosen to instead lead on the issue. The winds of scientific freedom thankfully still blow here on the Farm. The potential of this research could improve the lives not only of Californians, but also of citizens around the globe. Researchers at Stanford are already studying the potential effect of stem cells on leukemia, type I diabetes, multiple sclerosis, sickle cell anemia and Parkinson’s disease, to name just a few.

There are legitimate concerns the editorial board has with aspects, both trivial and otherwise, about the decisions made by various functionaries within the labyrinthine University structure. However, developments such as the ones listed above should serve as a reminder to both the board and the campus that the institution that we inhabit is world-class and helping to shape the future in bold and exciting ways. Coupled with the recent completion of the Huang Center, the Gunn SIEPER building and the soon-to-be-completed Knight Management Center, the editorial board very much believes the future of this great university will only continue to grow.

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About Editorial Board

Editorials represent the views of The Stanford Daily, an independent newspaper serving Stanford and the surrounding community. The Daily's Editorial Board is chaired by President and Editor in Chief Ashley Westhem '16, and joined by Executive Editor Andrew Vogeley '17, Managing Editor of Opinion Katie Kramon '16, Matthew Cohen '18, Ben Kaufman '17, Jana Persky '16, Winston Shi '16 and Anja Young '16. To contact the Editorial Board chair, submit an op-ed (limited to 700 words) or submit a letter to the editor (limited to 500 words) at eic@stanforddaily.com.
  • From the man who started it all

    James A. Thomson is on record saying to the New York Times,
    “If human embryonic stem cell research does not make you at least a little bit uncomfortable, you have not thought about it enough,” The article continued saying “He decided in the end to go ahead, reasoning that the work was important and that he was using embryos from fertility clinics that would have been destroyed otherwise.”
    Which is the position that most reasonable people adopt anyway in the subject of embryonic stem cell research. Nobody has ethical problems with adult stem cell research.
    Stanford’s founding has its share of shamefulness. Although not many are willing to openly talk about it, Stanford’s first president, David Starr Jordan, was a leading eugenicist.
    It might well be that the staunch defense of embryonic stem cell research without restrictions will be looked at by future generations with the same contempt most of us look at eugenics right not.

  • http://cordbloodessentials.com/main/the-low-down-on-cord-blood Stem Cell

    My suggestion… Everyone that can should join a bone marrow donation registry. These diseases can be treated and cured with the stem cells provided by the donations of cord blood and bone marrow.

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