Ethical stem cell project made possible by Medical Research Future Fund investment

Systems to ensure the ethical use of stem cell lines will be strengthened by a significant new investment.

A national consortium led by the School of Biomedical Sciences’ Professor Christine Wells, Chair – Stem Cell Systems in the Department of Anatomy and Physiology, has been awarded $2.97 million in funding through the Medical Research Future Fund National Critical Research Infrastructure grant.

The project, Registration and Ethical Governance of Australian Stem Cells Lines, will develop digital infrastructure for trustworthy, responsible and donor-guided governance of biospecimens.

“Stem cell research, by its nature, has the donor at the heart of the research project,” said Professor Wells. "The stems cells are the clay from which many different tissues and organs can be made.”

“This project will help build stronger collaboration between researchers and patients, their families and communities, so that future medicines and inventions are fit for purpose, responsibly created and benefit Australians.”

The team includes Dr Noel Faux and Ms Alison McIvor (University of Melbourne), Professor Joan Leach and Associate Professor Rebekah McWhirter (ANU), Emeritus Professor Susan Dodds (La Trobe University), Emeritus Professor Dianne Nicol (University of Tasmania) and Professor Rachel Ankeny (Wageningen University). The interdisciplinary experts will pilot new mechanisms for review of consent in the Australian stem cell registry.

Ensuring ethical use of individual stem cell lines is key for meaningful translation of stem cell research. Parents like Heather Renton, whose child has a rare genetic condition, told experts how important this work would be.

“I suspect many families like ours, had samples taken prior to genomic sequencing becoming more mainstream,” Ms Renton said. “And probably most would have forgotten years later that they have samples stored at the research institute/hospital where it was done. And we would not be able to track down any samples that left Australia."

Partnerships with Phenomics Australia, as well as the Garvan Institute’s CTRL platform, will deliver new infrastructure that will support ongoing partnerships between stem cell researchers and the Australian donors who participate in and are beneficiaries of stem cell research. The total value of the project is estimated at $4.9 million.

Image: Wellcome Collection/Izzat Suffian, Pedro Costa, Stephen Pollard, David McCarthy & Khuloud T. Al-Jamal