Mandatory training for stem cell work
"Read instructions before operating." It's an admonition many of us ignore, but for those at Stanford who plan to work with human embryonic stem cells, it's now required for them to read and heed the university's new research guidelines.
To ensure that no researchers run afoul of the Bush administration's funding restrictions, the university has instituted a new mandatory training program that university personnel must complete before embarking on human embryonic stem cell research.
The program, called "Human Embryonic Stem Cell Research Special Operating Procedures," includes a tutorial and test, which anyone doing such research must pass with a perfect score.
Restrictions imposed by the Bush administration limit the use of federal funds for human embryonic stem cell research to projects using the few such stem cell lines in existence as of 6 p.m., Pacific time, Aug. 9, 2001. Researchers can create and use new lines, but must not use any federal funds in doing so.
The tutorial covers everything from dealing with human donors to sorting out what lab equipment can be used on a project that isn't federally approved to what accounting methods should be used. The tutorial and test are available online at http://ora.stanford.edu/hesc.
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