2008 World Stem Cell Summit to be in Madison

Posted from www.jsonline.com

WEDNESDAY, March 12, 2008, 11:03 a.m.
By Stacy Forster

UW to host stem cell summit this fall.

Madison - Wisconsin's capital city will host an international stem cell research summit this fall, which will bring up to 1,000 of the world's top researchers to Madison.

The World Stem Cell Summit, to be hosted by Wi Cell and the University of Wisconsin Stem Cell and Regenerative Medicine Center on Sept. 22 and 23, will mark the 10th anniversary of James Thomson's isolation of human embryonic stem cells at UW-Madison.

Thomson is expected to give a keynote address about his latest breakthrough using human skin cells.

Gov. Jim Doyle, a major backer of the stem cell industry in Wisconsin, said the summit helps preserve Wisconsin's place as a leader in stem cell research.

"In Wisconsin, we are working hard to build innovative centers, to turn research into life-saving treatments in every corner of the state," he said in a news conference.

Madison beat out New York and Washington, D.C., to host the summit.