Tax ID no. 36-4491158 Chief Executive Officer Nancy Witty | President Sean J. Morrison | |
Founded March 30, 2001; 15 years ago (2001-03-30) Legal status 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization Headquarters Skokie, Illinois, United States | ||
The International Society for Stem Cell Research (ISSCR) is an independent 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization based in Skokie, Illinois, United States. The organization's mission is to promote and foster the exchange and dissemination of information and ideas relating to stem cells, to encourage the general field of research involving stem cells, and to promote professional and public education in all areas of stem cell research and application.
History
The International Society for Stem Cell Research was officially incorporated on March 30, 2001, to foster the exchange of information on stem cell research. Leonard Zon, professor of pediatrics at Harvard Medical School, served as the organization's first president.
In June 2003, the International Society for Stem Cell Research held its first convention. More than 600 scientists attended, many of whom expressed frustration over restrictions that President George W. Bush's administration had placed on the field of stem-cell research, slowing the pace of research. Scientists who were leaders in their fields are prohibited from using funding from the National Institutes of Health to conduct certain experiments that could provide significant medical achievements.
In March 2015, scientists, including an inventor of CRISPR, urged a worldwide moratorium on germline gene therapy, writing "scientists should avoid even attempting, in lax jurisdictions, germline genome modification for clinical application in humans" until the full implications "are discussed among scientific and governmental organizations".
After the publication that a Chinese group had used CRISPR to modify a gene in human embryos, the group repeated their call for a moratorium on “attempts at human clinical germ-line genome editing while extensive scientific analysis of the potential risks is conducted, along with broad public discussion of the societal and ethical implications.”