Stem cell pioneer to lead state's institute

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Stem cell pioneer to lead state's institute

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-

stemcell15sep15,1,2465171.story

Australian biologist Alan Trounson will aid California's $3-billion

effort to find cures for diseases through human embryonic research.

By Engel, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer

September 15, 2007

A pioneering Australian biologist who was among the first scientists

to grow human embryonic stem cells in a laboratory will lead

California's $3-billion effort to translate such research into cures

for diseases.

The unexpected announcement that Alan Trounson, 61, director of the

Monash Immunology and Stem Cell Laboratories in Melbourne and a

founder of the Australian Stem Cell Centre, would be the new

president of the California Institute for Regenerative Medicine came

during a teleconferenced meeting of the institute's oversight board

Friday.

Klein II, board chairman and driving force behind Proposition

71, which authorized creation of the institute, praised Trounson for

his deep roots in the field, his experience in taking discoveries

from the laboratory to the clinic and his " global vision. "

Trounson will be paid $490,000, or if the state approves paying his

moving expenses, $475,000, Klein said. Under the terms of his

contract, he can work part time at a prorated salary for up to six

months as he closes down his laboratory.

Trounson wants to start his new job as soon as he works out visa

requirements, he said.

" This is a life-marker for my career, " he said Friday by video

hookup from Melbourne. " I just want to get on with the job. "

Trounson's appointment comes just as the almost 3-year-old institute

is set to shift into warp speed with an infusion of money and

talent. Until now, it was running on borrowed money and a skeletal

staff.

The state treasurer's office has set a Sept. 27 date for the sale of

$250 million in general obligation bonds, the first installment of

the billions of dollars for research approved by voters in 2004. The

sale had been blocked by a lawsuit challenging the constitutionality

of Proposition 71, officially known as the California Stem Cell

Research and Cures Act, but in May, the California Supreme Court

gave a final clearance to the research effort, declining to hear an

appeal of two lower court rulings. That action cleared the way for

the first bond sale.

Klein, chairman of the institute's oversight committee, wrote

Proposition 71 in response to President Bush's August 2001 mandate

that restricted federal funding to only a handful of human embryonic

stem cell lines created before then, which happen to include those

grown by Trounson's team. The restrictions were prompted by moral

concerns about destruction of embryos during such research.

Embryonic stem cells are among the first cells to form after an egg

is fertilized and exist for just a few days before giving rise to

specialized cells. Their ability to become any type of tissue in the

body is what gives them potential as a means to study human disease

in a petri dish or for use as " replacement " cells for damaged ones.

Trounson is a pioneer of in vitro fertilization and was the first

scientist to figure out how to freeze excess embryos for future

pregnancy attempts. He's also a sheep farmer who has cloned cows and

wombats.

In 1998, he was part of a team of scientists from Singapore and

Australia racing to be the first to remove stem cells from days-old

human embryos and grow them in a lab. Although they succeeded at

producing two human cell lines, University of Wisconsin biologist

Thomson got there first, publishing his findings that November

as Trounson's team was writing theirs.

Thomson recently announced an affiliation with UC Santa Barbara,

saying that he would spend one month at a research laboratory there.

Pera, who worked with Trounson in the stem-cell race in

Australia, was hired to direct stem cell research at USC in 2005.

Pera also worked with Trounson to derive pure nerve cells from

unspecialized stem cells, lending hope to the notion that the

research could lead to treatments for Parkinson's disease, spinal

cord injuries and other nerve disorders.

They are among dozens of scientists who have been drawn to

California since the passage of Proposition 71.

" This is an excellent move, " said Simpson of the Foundation for

Taxpayer Rights, a watchdog group that can be one of the institute's

toughest critics. " I am wonderfully impressed and completely

surprised. "

Dr. Q. Daley, co-director of the Harvard stem cell institute

and president of the International Society for Stem Cell Research,

called Trounson a " terrific, inspired choice " and said the

willingness of an internationally recognized scientist to give up

his laboratory to lead the California institute was a testament to

the resources the state has committed to the project.

" This position is going to be the single most important steward of

stem cell research internationally, " Daley said. " We're all envious

of California. "

The institute had been without a president since the April

resignation of neuroscientist Zach W. Hall, who left two months

earlier than his announced retirement date.

Trounson's career has not been free of controversy. He was

criticized in 2002 after showing Australian legislators -- who were

voting to legalize embryonic stem cell research -- a video of a rat

that he said had been cured of paralysis using embryonic stem cells.

It turned out that the rat had been given slightly older cells

called foetal germ cells.

Trounson said Friday that he had apologized to the parliament and

learned " a very valuable lesson about ensuring precision in what you

say to people. "

Trounson released a " vision statement " Friday, which outlined his

relationship with the institute's board.

Calling Klein " a visionary financier and designer of innovative

systems, " Trounson said that the two would work as partners

to " deliver the incredible opportunity of stem cell therapies. "