Robert Klein

The entrepreneur largely responsible for California's largesse to fund stem cell research is joining the International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) as part of a newly formed advisory council. The announcement came at the ISSCR Town Hall Meeting, which followed a long day of scientific talks; standard organization discussion and self-congratulation was punctuated by references to a big announcement to come. This turned out to be the creation of a global advisory council to help ISSCR define strategies. The first announced member of this council is Bob Klein, an entrepreneur famous for spearheading and funding so-called Proposition 71, which directs $3 billion of California taxpayer funds to be spent on stem cell research.

Incoming ISSCR George Daley said Klein would help “marshal the forces of philanthropy.” Klein himself defines his role as finding a way to “energize national governments”.

Daley said that currently ISSCR is hampered by lack of money. “Every time we take on a new project we have to fund it.” In the past ISSCR has created educational videos and drafted guidelines for stem cell research. Daley hopes that under his tenure ISSCR will create a task force on translational research to make ISSCR more relevant for clinicians. He also hopes to build a registry of stem cell lines that includes an assessment on whether lines were established with appropriate informed consent.

Private conversations with ISSCR members and officials generally welcomed the move, saying that Klein's involvement would make the organization more powerful. However, some questioned whether Klein's experience in California would be relevant to countries where embryo research is not generally controversial.

Klein said that his role with ISSCR would likely be criticized as taking time away from his efforts with the California Institute of Regenerative Medicine, the organization created to disburse funds made available through Proposition 71. However, he said, California patients would be served best by fostering stem cell science across the globe.

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