Congressional Hearings Held on
Stem Cell Research

• Senate Labor-HHS Appropriations Subcommittee
  
• Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee
  
• Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee
• Senate Special Committee On Aging
• House Oversight and Government Reform Committee
  

Senate Appropriations Committee -- Subcommittee on Labor, Health and Human Services, Education and Related Agencies

Recent Controversies in Stem Cell Research
September 6, 2006, 124 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
Robert Lanza, Ph.D., vice president, Advanced Cell Technologies
Hon. Ronald Green, Ph.D., professor, Dartmouth College, and Chair, Advanced Cell Technologies Ethics Advisory Board
Kevin Eggan, Ph.D., assistant professor, Harvard University
James Battey, M.D., Ph.D., Chairman, National Institutes of Health Stem Cell Task Force

Alternative Pluripotent Stem Cell Therapies Enhancement Act (S. 2754)
June 27, 2006, 192 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
James F. Battey, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Director, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, and Chair, NIH Cell Task Force, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services
Alan I. Leshner, Ph.D., chief executive officer, American Association for the Advancement of Science
Stephen Strom, Ph.D., professor, department of pathology, University of Pittsburgh

Stem Cell Research, 2005
October 19, 2005, 138 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
Anthony Herrera, author and cancer survivor
Judith Gasson, Ph.D., director, Jonsson Comprehensive Cancer Center
Rudolf Jaenisch, M.D., professor of biology, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Steven Teitelbaum, M.D., Wilma and Roswell Messing professor of Pathology and Immunology, Washington University School of Medicine
John Wagner, M.D., scientific director of clinical research, Blood and Marrow Transplant Program and Stem Cell Institute

Alternative Methods for Deriving Stem Cells
July 12, 2005, 124 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
James F. Battey, Jr., M.D., Ph.D., Director, National Institute on Deafness and Other Communication Disorders, and Chair, NIH Cell Task Force, National Institutes of Health, Department of Health and Human Services
Robert Lanza, M.D., Vice President, Medical and Scientific Development, Advanced Cell Technology
Ronald M. Green, Director, Ethics Institute, Dartmouth College
George Q. Daley, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Director, Stem Cell Program, Boston Children's Hospital
William B. Hurlbut, M.D., Program in Human Biology, Stanford University

Federal Funding for Stem Cell Research
May 22, 2003, 418 Russell Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
Elias Zerhouni, M.D., Director, National Institutes of Health
James Battey, M.D., National Institutes of Health
John Kessler, M.D., Northwestern University Medical School
Roy Ogle, M.D., University of Virginia
Ronald McKay, M.D., National Institutes of Health
James Cordy, Coalition for the Advancement of Medical Research

Status of Implementation of Federal Stem Cell Research Policy
September 25, 2002, 124 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
Elias Zerhouni, M.D., Director, National Institutes of Health
Curt Civin, M.D., Johns Hopkins University
George Daley, M.D., Ph.D., Whitehead Institute, MIT
Roger Pedersen, Ph.D., Cambridge University
Gerald Schatten, Ph.D., Magee-Women's Research Institute

October 31, 2001
Witnesses:
Wendy Baldwin, Ph.D., Deputy Director for Extramural Research, National Institutes of Health
Bert Vogelstein, M.D., Johns Hopkins University Oncology Center
Martin Pera, Monash University, Australia
Joseph Itskovitz, Rambam Medical Center, Technion University, Israel

Stem Cell Ethical Issues and Intellectual Property Rights
August 1, 2001, 192 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., Director, Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania
Michael West, Ph.D., President and CEO, Advanced Cell Technology
Carl Gulbrandsen, Ph.D., Managing Director/President, Wisconsin Alumni Research Foundation/WiCell Research Institute, Inc.
Maria Freire, Ph.D., Director, Office of Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health

Hearing on Stem Cell Research
July 18, 2001, 216 Hart Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
Senator Orrin Hatch (R-UT)
Senator Bill Frist (R-TN)
Senator Gordon Smith (R-OR)
Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS)
Lana Skirboll, Ph.D., Director, Office of Science Policy, National Institutes of Health
Richard M. Doerflinger, Associate Director for Policy Development, Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, National Conference of Catholic Bishops
Anton-Lewis Usala, M.D., Founder, Chairman and Chief Science Officer, Encelle, Inc.
Diane Krause, M.D., Ph.D., Associate Professor, Yale University
Mary Hendrix, Ph.D., Professor and Head, Department of Anatomy and Cell Biology, University of Iowa College of Medicine
William Gibbons, M.D., Chairman, Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine
Susan Lanzendorf, M.D., Associate Professor, Jones Institute for Reproductive Medicine
Michael West, Ph.D., President and CEO, Advanced Cell Technology

September 14, 2000, 216 Hart Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
Richard O. Hynes, Ph.D., President, American Society for Cell Biology
Darwin J. Prockop, Ph.D., Director, Center for Gene Therapy, Tulane University Medical Center
Ron Heagey, Life is an Attitude Foundation
Russell Saltzman, Pastor, Ruskin Heights Lutheran Church, Kansas City
Anton-Lewis Usala, M.D., Founder, Chairman and Chief Science Officer, Encelle, Inc.
Jenifer Estess, Actress/Producer, President, Project ALS
Gina Gershon, Actress, Project ALS
Mary Tyler Moore, Actress, International Chairman, Juvenile Diabetes Foundation
Michael J. Fox, Actor, Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research

September 7, 2000, 124 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
Gerald Fischbach, M.D., Director, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Allen M. Spiegel, M.D., Director, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders
David Prentice, Ph.D., Professor of Life Sciences, Indiana State University
Micheline M. Mathews-Roth, M.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Harvard Medical School

April 26, 2000, 216 Hart Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
Gerald Fischbach, M.D., Director, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
Allen M. Spiegel, M.D., Director, National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Disorders
Senator Sam Brownback (R-KS)
Frank E. Young, M.D., Ph.D., Director of Adult Ministries, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Bethesda, MD
Mary Jane Owen, Executive Director, National Catholic Office for Persons with Disabilities
Christopher Reeve, Actor, Christopher Reeve Paralysis Foundation
Jenifer Estess, Actress/Producer, President, Project ALS
Lawrence Goldstein, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology, Division of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California at San Diego

November 4, 1999, 192 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
Frank E. Young, M.D., Ph.D., Director of Adult Ministries, Fourth Presbyterian Church, Bethesda, MD
Representative Jay Dickey (R-AR)
James F. Childress, Ph.D., Professor of Religious Studies and Medical Education, University of Virginia, Member, National Bioethics Advisory Commission
Senator Strom Thurmond (R-SC)

Stem Cell Research: HHS Legal Ruling
January 26, 1999, 138 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
Harold Varmus, M.D., Director, National Institutes of Health
Harriet Rabb, J.D., General Counsel, Department of Health and Human Services
Eric M. Meslin, Ph.D., Executive Director, National Bioethics Advisory Commission
Richard M. Doerflinger, Associate Director for Policy Development, Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, National Conference of Catholic Bishops

Stem Cell Research: Patenting and Health Implications
January 12, 1999, 192 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
Maria Freire, Ph.D., Director, Office of Technology Transfer, National Institutes of Health
Todd Dickinson, J.D., Deputy Assistant Secretary of Commerce, Deputy Commissioner of Patents and Trademarks, U.S. Patent and Trademark Office
Lawrence Goldstein, Ph.D., Professor of Pharmacology, Division of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of California at San Diego
Douglas Melton, Ph.D., Harvard University, representing the Juvenile Diabetes Foundation
Richard Pikunis, J.D., Parkinson's Patient, Marlton, NJ

Stem Cell Research
December 2, 1998, 192 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
Harold Varmus, M.D., Director, National Institutes of Health
John D. Gearhart, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine
James A. Thomson, Ph.D., Wisconsin Primate Research Center, University of Wisconsin
Michael D. West, Ph.D., President and Chief Executive Officer, Advanced Cell Technology
Arthur Caplan, Ph.D., Director, Center for Bioethics, University of Pennsylvania
Richard M. Doerflinger, Associate Director for Policy Development, Secretariat for Pro-Life Activities, National Conference of Catholic Bishops
Thomas B. Okarma, Ph.D., Vice President of Research and Development, Geron Corporation
Eric Meslin, Ph.D., Executive Director, National Bioethics Advisory Commission

Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee -- Subcommittee on Science, Technology, and Space

Embryonic Stem Cell Research: Exploring the Controversy
September 29, 2004, 253 Russell Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
Mr. Richard Doerflinger, Deputy Director, United States Conference of Catholic Bishops
Dr. Laurie Zoloth, Director / Professor, Center for Genetic Medicine / Northwestern University
Dr. George Daley, Associate Professor of Pediatrics & Biological Chemistry & Molecular Pharmacology, Children's Hospital / Harvard School of Medicine
Dr. Marc Hedrick, President, Macropore Biosurgery
Dr. David Prentice, Senior Fellow, Family Research Council

Adult Stem Cell Research
July 14, 2004, 253 Russell Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
Dr. Michel F. Levesque, M.D.
Dr. Jean D. Peduzzi-Nelson, Ph.D., Department of Physiological Optics, University of Alabama at Birmingham
Dr. Irving Weissman, M.D., Department of Pathology, Stanford University School of Medicine
Ms. Laura Dominguez
Ms. Susan Fajt
Dr. Robert A. Goldstein, M.D., Ph.D., Chief Scientific Officer, Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation International
Dr. Dennis Turner

Advances in Adult and Non-Embryonic Stem Cell Research
June 12, 2003, 253 Russell Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
David C. Hess, M.D., Medical College of Georgia
Joanne Kurtzberg, M.D., Duke University Medical Center
John W. McDonald, M.D., Ph.D., Washington University School of Medicine
Jean D. Peduzzi-Nelson, Ph.D., University of Alabama at Birmingham
Pablo Rubinstein, M..D., New York Blood Center
Steven L. Barsh
Keone Penn
Stephen R. Sprague

Senate Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee--Full Committee

Stem Cell Research
September 5, 2001, 106 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
Senator Arlen Specter (R-PA)
Representative James R. Langevin (D-RI)
Hon. Tommy Thompson, Secretary of Health and Human Services
Douglas Melton, Ph.D., Harvard University
Karen Hersey, Massachusetts Institute of Technology
James Childress, Ph.D., University of Virginia
Kevin FitzGerald, S.J., Ph.D., Georgetown University
John P. Chute, M.D., Naval Medical Research Center

Senate Special Committee on Aging--Full Committee

Exploring the Promises of Embryonic Stem Cell Research
June 8, 2005, G50 Dirksen Senate Office Building
Witnesses:
Chris Dudley, diabetes advocate, and former center, Portland Trailblazers, Portland, OR
Larry Goldstein, Ph.D., University of California-San Diego, School of Medicine, San Diego, CA; representing the American Society for Cell Biology
Douglas A. Doerfler, president and chief executive officer, MaxCyte, Gaithersburg, MD, on behalf of the Biotechnology Industry Organization
John D. Gearhart, Ph.D., Johns Hopkins University, Department of Medicine, Institute for Cell Engineering, Baltimore, MD
Su-Chun Zhang, M.D., Ph.D., assistant professor of Anatomy and Neurology, Stem Cell Research Program, Waisman Mental Retardation Center, University of Wisconsin Madison, Madison, WI

House Oversight and Government Reform Committee -- Subcommittee on Domestic Policy

Human Cloning and Embryonic Stem Cell Research After Seoul; Examination, Exploitation, Fraud and Ethical Problems in the Research
March 7, 2006, 2247 Rayburn House Office Building
Witnesses:
Dr. James Battey, Chair of the NIH Stem Cell Task Force and Director of the National Institute for Deafness and Other Communication Disorders
Mr. Bernard Schwetz, Director of the Office for Human Research Protections
Chris Pascal, Director of the Office of Research Integrity
Dr. Richard Chole, Lindberg professor and chairman, Department of Otolaryngology, Washington University School of Medicine, St. Louis
Judy Norsigian, executive director, Our Bodies Ourselves, co-author of "Our
Bodies, Ourselves"
Dr. Diane Beeson, professor emerita, Department of Sociology and Social Services, California State University, East Bay
Mr. Richard Doerflinger, deputy director of secretariat for pro-life activities, the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops
Dr. Debra J.H. Mathews, assistant director for science programs, the Phoebe R. Berman Bioethics Institute
Joe Brown, Texas state coordinator, Parkinson's Action Network

Opportunities and Advancements in Stem Cell Research
July 17, 2001, 2154 Rayburn House Office Building
Witnesses:
Marlene and Hannah Strege, first ever adopted embryo baby and mother
Lucinda, Mark, and Luke Borden, adopted embryo twins and mother
JoAnn Davidson, Snowflakes Embryo Adoption Program, Nightlife Christian Adoptions
Nathan Salley, 16-year-old leukemia patient
Gerald Fischbach, Ph.D., Columbia University
David Prentice, Ph.D., Indiana State University
Joan Samuelson, Parkinson's Action Network
Mollie and Jackie Singer, 13-year-old diabetes patient and twin sister, representing the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation
Carl Hook, M.D., Mayo Clinic

Updated July 13, 2007