Qatar to give BIPP $2.5M for stem-cell policy research

Qatar to give BIPP $2.5M for stem-cell policy research

BY FRANZ BROTZEN
Rice News staff

The government of Qatar has announced it will donate $2.5 million to Rice University’s James A. Baker III Institute for Public Policy for the study of stem cell research and international policy on stem cells.

Qatar’s ambassador to the United States, Nasser bin Hamad Al-Khalifa, and Baker Institute Director Edward Djerejian signed an agreement in Washington Nov. 28.

”We welcome this opportunity to build upon our long-term relationship with the leadership and people of Qatar through the establishment of the International Stem Cell Program,” Djerejian said. ”We look forward to our collaboration with Qatar on this significant public-policy initiative in the field of biomedical research.”

The grant will establish a new program that will be part of the Baker Institute’s existing stem-cell policy series, ”Stem Cells: Saving Lives or Crossing Lines.” It will support a major program focusing on international stem-cell policies and the status of stem-cell science, which will study and analyze world policies regarding embryonic stem-cell research, embryonic research and human cloning.

The program will include a series of major conferences on national and international stem-cell policy development, workshops to bring together scholars and scientists from the international community, a new program Web site and major publications based on conference and workshop findings.

To encourage stem-cell research in the Middle East, the program will also feature an annual award to a promising young scientist from the region. Some of the program’s international activities will be in direct partnership with the Qatar Foundation for Education, Science and Community Development and organized at Education City in the Qatari capital, Doha.

The Emir of Qatar, Sheikh Hamad Bin Khalifa Al-Thani, is working to establish Qatar as a leader in innovative education and research.

Ambassador Al-Khalifa said, ”We are pleased to be involved in a project that will promote discussions on the ethical and policy considerations that are facing embryonic stem cell research throughout the world.”

The new program will be headed by Neal Lane, senior fellow in science and technology policy at the Baker Institute. ”The Science and Technology Policy program has been interested in stem-cell research and policies for several years,” Lane said. ”This endowment will help us expand our program and do more research on international policies.”

The goal of the Baker Institute stem-cell program is to connect policy and science in an international context and promote stronger avenues for cooperation and advancement of medical science and policy. Because of the controversy surrounding embryonic research, the program seeks to develop policies that account for cultural and religious factors that influence science policy around the world.

The Baker Institute’s Science and Technology Policy Program held a conference on embryonic stem cells in November 2004 that included presentations by international and national scientists, ethicists, journalists, advocacy groups and policy experts. A second conference was held in March 2006 at the Baker Institute and focused on state-level stem-cell policies. The program’s first international policy conference took place Oct. 24 in Washington in collaboration with the Carnegie Institution.