Stem Cell Researcher Says It's Too Soon to Cheer About Recent Stem Cell Findings
August 25, 2006Recently, scientists announced that they had found a way to establish colonies of human embryonic stem cells without destroying a human embryo. University of Missouri-Columbia researcher Elmer Price, who works with adult stem cells, said this discovery is a step in the right direction, but a lot of work is still necessary to determine if these particular stem cells will be effective for any kind of therapy.
"This method to obtain duplicate embryos has been used in animals for years," Price said. "In terms of human embryonic stem cells, this is a good step, but we need additional research to see if we are headed in the right direction. These are the types of steps that scientists working with both kinds of stem cells, embryonic and adult, need to take."
Price is an associate professor of biomedical sciences and researcher at the MU Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center. Price's research focuses on adult stem cells and potential treatments for vascular and neurological diseases. He is a member of the American Physiological Society and has been awarded research grants from the NIH, the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, the UM Research Board and the MO Spinal Cord Injury Research Program.
Source: University of Missouri
