Highlights of the 2nd Annual Meeting of the
International Society for Stem Cell Research
June 10-13, 2004
Boston Seaport Hotel
Boston, MA USA

Meeting Statistics. More than 650 abstracts were submitted, out of which 37 were chosen for oral presentation and 476 as poster presentations. Attendance was 1,435 people representing 28 countries, with 70 percent from North America, 16 percent from Europe and 13 percent from Australia/Asia.

Scientific Highlights. With the plethora of excellent presentations, it is difficult to choose individual talks or posters above others. Suffice it to say that the human embryonic stem cell field is booming, and that many new human embryonic stem cell lines were presented whose holders are short-handed and very eager to collaborate.

Particularly interesting were two posters presenting cell lines derived (and not derived) from blastocysts with genetic diseases, suggesting that there may be certain genetic abnormalities (such as chromosomal monosomy and trisomy) that could preclude derivation of hESC lines, while hESCs from other genetic diseases may be more easily derivable.

Speech by U.S. Senator. Sen. Arlen Specter (R-Penn.) addressed the 2nd ISSCR Annual Meeting. Sen. Specter equates the current calls to ban medical research related to stem cells to similar fears about researching recombinant DNA 25 years ago.

Press Coverage. Dozens of members of the press attended the ISSCR Annual Meeting and press conference. Reporters of TV, magazines, newspapers and radio outlets around the world attended scientific sessions and interviewed ISSCR leadership during the four-day meeting.

Town Hall Meeting. Here some items that were discussed or voted on:

• New nomenclature:
  “ hESC” is now the official acronym for “human embryonic stem cells.”
  “ Nuclear transfer” replaces “therapeutic cloning,” in an effort to move away from the negative connotations of “cloning.”
  
  Please use these new terms in your manuscripts and communications with the lay public and press to move toward generalized usage of those words.
  
• The next ISSCR president was elected and will take office in June 2005: Gordon M. Keller, at the Institute for Gene Therapy & Molecular Medicine, Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York. New bylaws governing the election process will be published on the Web site shortly.
  
• Ten new members for the Board of Directors were announced. See the Leadership section of the ISSCR Web site for a complete list of ISSCR officers and board members.
  
• ISSCR members voted to send a letter to President Bush asking for inclusion of all types of stem cells in the federal funding policy. This letter was sent out on Tuesday, June 22, 2004

Updated June 30, 2008