FASEB News - March 9, 2009

Bethesda, MD – Richard Marchase, President of the Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology (FASEB), praised the decision by President Barack Obama to permit federal funding for human embryonic stem cell research. “This is a great step forward for science and for health,” Marchase stated. “As a result, more researchers will be able to conduct the fundamental research that will lead to new treatments for many different diseases.”

Marchase pointed out that federal funding of stem cell research brings this important area of science under the regulatory oversight of the government. “We are confident that the National Institutes of Health will be able to develop guidelines that will assure the public that this research will conform to the highest ethical standards,” Marchase noted. “We have waited many years for this moment, and I also want to thank the many people in the patient advocacy and research communities who worked so hard to make this happen.”

“It is important to also recognize that this order on stem cell research is part of a broader change in policy that will insulate federal science policy from inappropriate political influence,” Marchase added, referring to the presidential memorandum ordering the Office of Science and Technology Policy to ensure that people appointed to federal science positions have strong credentials and that the vetting process for scientific information is not influenced by political censorship.