title: The stem cell research environment: a patchwork of patchworks.
abstract: Few areas of recent research have received as much focus or generated as much excitement and debate as stem cell research. Hope for the therapeutic promise of this field has been matched by social concern associated largely with the sources of stem cells and their uses. This interplay between promise and controversy has contributed to the enormous variation that exists among the environments in which stem cell research is conducted throughout the world. This variation is layered upon intra-jurisdictional policies that are also often complex and in flux, resulting in what we term a 'patchwork of patchworks'. This patchwork of patchworks and its implications will become increasingly important as we enter this new era of stem cell research. The current progression towards translational and clinical research among international collaborators serves as a catalyst for identifying potential policy conflict and makes it imperative to address jurisdictional variability in stem cell research environments. The existing patchworks seen in contemporary stem cell research environments provide a valuable opportunity to consider how variations in regulations and policies across and within jurisdictions influence research efficiencies and directions. In one sense, the stem cell research context can be viewed as a living experiment occurring across the globe. The lessons to be gleaned from examining this field have great potential for broad-ranging general science policy application.
authors.affiliation: Health Law Institute, Faculty of Law, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Canada. tcaulfld@law.ualberta.ca
authors.forename: Timothy
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Caulfield
authors.forename: Amy
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Zarzeczny
authors.forename: Jennifer
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: McCormick
authors.forename: Tania
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bubela
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Critchley
authors.forename: Edna
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Einsiedel
authors.forename: Jacques
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Galipeau
authors.forename: Shawn
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Harmon
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Huynh
authors.forename: Insoo
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Hyun
authors.forename: Judy
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Illes
authors.forename: Rosario
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Isasi
authors.forename: Yann
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Joly
authors.forename: Graeme
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Laurie
authors.forename: Geoff
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lomax
authors.forename: Holly
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Longstaff
authors.forename: Michael
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: McDonald
authors.forename: Charles
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Murdoch
authors.forename: Ubaka
authors.initials: U
authors.lastname: Ogbogu
authors.forename: Jason
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Owen-Smith
authors.forename: Shaun
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Pattinson
authors.forename: Shainur
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Premji
authors.forename: Barbara
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: von Tigerstrom
authors.forename: David E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Winickoff
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D033041:Embryo Research / Q000941:ethics / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D006801:Humans; D013234:Stem Cells