Stem Cell Research in Our Society: Because We Can, Should We?

The controversial issue of stem cell research in our society was discussed by a panel of researchers at the Hot Topics Panel Discussion during UCF’s Research Week. The panel's development was supported in part through efforts from the Department of Philosophy's Ethics Center Initiative and the critical thinking component of Philosophy's Information Fluency program. Moderated by Dr. Todd Husty, the Medical Director for WESH NewsChannel 2, Dr. Husty educates Central Florida on preventive medicine while providing the latest on health, fitness and nutrition. He is on staff at the Winter Park Memorial Hospital and serves as medical director of emergency medical services for Seminole County. Each researcher presented their case and explained how it relates to their specific field and then all of the guests sat as a panel to answer questions from the audience. A reoccurring question that came up during the panel was “Because we can…should we?”

Visiting Instructor at UCF in Philosophy, Dr. Harry Coverston practiced law for eight years and is a member of the Florida Bar and an ordained priest in the Episcopal Church. He introduced the issues of religion and ethics and how they relate to stem cell research and focused on why we should not ignore religion when discussing and researching this controversial topic. He discussed major religions in our society and their viewpoints and reasoning regarding stem cell research.

Associate Professor in Biomolecular Science Center, Dr. Steven Ebert began his presentation by informing the audience about the leading cause of death in the United States for both men and women: cardiovascular disease. With cancer as the second leading cause of death, many people are in need of a donor to ensure that they will live. A “ditch digger” of stem cells, Dr. Ebert’s lecture focused on the ethical and logical issues that arise when people donate their cells to help others and stated that “access doesn’t guarantee success.”

Professor Dr. Roger Handberg is the department chair of UCF’s Political Science program, and his presentation focused on the conflicts that arise with people’s moral values and how politics play a role in stem cell research. He discussed the two political parties’ stance on the topic, the state-by-state competitiveness and how we can seek other pathways regarding this issue.

Professor Dr. Kiminobu Sugaya is a professor in the UCF Burnett College of Biomedical Sciences and the Director of Stem Cell Laboratory at the Biomolecular Science Center. Dr. Sugaya spoke about his novel research, which treats neurodegenerative diseases including Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases using the patient's own adult stem cells, which eliminates ethical and other issues associated with embryonic stem cells. He also has recently succeeded in guiding the stem cells to differentiate into specific cell types by genetic manipulation of the cells.

Dr. John Edwards is the Medical Director of the Florida Center for Cellular Therapy at Florida Hospital Cancer Institute. His presentation showed that stem cell therapies show early promise and discussed the major differences between adult and embryonic stem cells. While adult stem cells have been proven to be safe and effective over time, bone marrow becomes limited over the years, whereas embryos have a longer time capacity. With 19 people passing away each day in the United States because they are waiting for an organ and 84,000 people on waiting lists for an organ donation, Dr. Edwards stressed the importance of realizing the benefits of stem cell therapy.