Research Project with Human Embryonic Stem Cells at MDC - Robert Koch Institute in Berlin Grants Permission
Cell biologist and stem cell researcher Dr. Daniel Besser of the Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC) in Berlin-Buch has received authorization from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI) in Berlin to conduct research on human embryonic stem cells. As the responsible regulatory authority, the RKI made the announcement of the approval on October 8, 2004. Previously, the Central Ethics Commission for Stem Cell Research (ZES) had made a positive assessment of Dr. Besser´s research project. As a result, he was granted permission to import four stem cell lines from the United States for research purposes. In this basic research project, Dr. Besser will investigate the regulatory mechanisms and factors which keep embryonic stem cells in an undifferentiated state as well as how specific kinds of cells develop from them. The planned duration of the research project is five years. Since December 2002, the RKI has granted six authorizations in Germany for research on human embryonic stem cells.
Before coming to the MDC in September of 2004, Dr. Besser
worked with human embryonic stem cells in Professor Ali H. Brivanlou´s
laboratory at RockefellerUniversity in New
York City, New York.
Born in Lübeck (Germany) in 1964, he received his Master of Science
(Diplom) degree from the Free University of Berlin in 1990 and was awarded his
doctorate at the University of Basel, Switzerland in 1995. The MDC awarded him
a Helmholtz scholarship, which enables young scientists to establish an
independent research team.
Press and Public Affairs
Max Delbrück Center for Molecular Medicine (MDC)
Berlin-Buch
Robert-Rössle-Straße 10; 13125 Berlin; Germany
Phone: +49 (0) 30 94 06 - 38 96
Fax: +49 (0) 30
94 06 - 38 33
e-mail: presse@mdc-berlin.de
http://www.mdc-berlin.de/englisch/about_the_mdc/public_relations/e_index.htm
