Culver calls for $12.5 million stem-cell center

(Des Moines Register)Iowa City, Ia. — Gov. Chet Culver said today he would push state lawmakers this session to ease Iowa's limits on embryonic stem cell research and to pour money into a new research center at the U of I to put the science into practice.

Speaking in front of a crowd of at least 200 at the U of I's Medical Education and Research Facility, Culver said a "modest" $12.5 million should be dedicated to creating a center for stem cell research at the U of I.

"This is the most serious issue facing the health of our state," Culver said. "We have the opportunity to unlock the cure to thousands of diseases that are destroying lives and families and hurting the backbone of our state."

The center, which would be named the Iowa Institute for Biomedical Discovery, could be built on pre-existing green space at University Hospitals, said Meredith Hay, vice president for research at the U of I. It would house doctors and clinicians working to find therapies for a number of diseases like cancer, diabetes and Parkinson's, officials said.

The building and recruitment of doctors to work there could be paid for with $2.5 million in supplemental appropriations to the current budget and another $10 million of the state's new budget for the fiscal year beginning July 1, according to the governor's office.

Culver, a Democrat who credited his November election victory in part to his support for stem cell research, also stressed the importance of easing restrictions on a type of stem cell research currently banned in the state.

Iowa's ban — enacted in 2002 by Culver's Democratic predecessor and presidential candidate Tom Vilsack — restricts scientists from a method of creating human embryos for research. The best scientists in the field are practicing in neighboring states where there are fewer restrictions as a result, hospital officials and doctors said.

Mark Anderson, a professor of cardiology at the U of I, acknowledged the benefits of stem cell research are still relatively unknown but said it was a "critical tool" in his fight against organ deterioration.

"It's like asking someone to build a house without a hammer," he told Culver as he ushered him around his lab. "Can you do it? Yeah, but it won't be the same quality."

Opponents say collecting stem cells from embryos is unethical because they represent human life and are not to be destroyed. Stem cells collected in other ways have also been shown useful recently, they say.

The U.S. House voted this month to expand federal support for embryonic stem cell research. The legislation has support in the U.S. Senate, where Iowa Sen. Tom Harkin has been pushing reform, but President Bush has indicated he will veto the bill if it reaches his office.

Today's announcement marks the first time Culver has publicly announced a specific budget proposal. He will present all of his spending plans to the Iowa Legislature on Tuesday.