National leaders in business, ethics, public policy, and science gathered at the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in Cambridge on Oct. 13 to explore the promises and challenges of stem cell science at the first annual Stem Cell Leadership Summit.
The interactive symposium was sponsored by HSCI and the Massachusetts General Hospital Center for Regenerative Medicine.The focus of the event was to advance the national debate on stem cell science through the lenses of business, ethics, and policy.
The daylong program included keynote addresses by former Harvard University President and Charles W. Eliot University Professor Lawrence H. Summers, PhD, actress Miss Elizabeth Taylor, and Newsweek magazine Senior Editor Jonathan Alter, with a plenary address by Joseph Fuller, MBA, founder and CEO of Monitor Action Group.
Four panel discussions centered on diverse topics relating to the future of stem cell research: “The Promise of Stem Cell Science,” “Ethical and Public Policy Perspectives of Stem Cells,” “The Impact of Regenerative Medicine on Health Economics,” and “Bridging the Barriers to Move Basic Stem Cell Science to Patients.”
During the luncheon, facilitated roundtable discussions focused on topics that included informing the public debate on stem cell research and the prospects for success in the treatment of neurologic injury.
The Leadership Summit concluded with remarks by HSCI Co-Director David T. Scadden, MD, and Debora Spar, PhD, Senior Associate Dean of Harvard Business School, followed by a reception.
Highlights of some of the day’s discussions will be featured in the next issue of Stem Cell Lines.